i illi jili iii ill, 







The Congregational Church and Soldiers' Monument, Meeting House Hi 



HISTORY 



OF THE 



TOWN OF LEDYARD 



1 650 -- 1900. 



BY 

Rev. JOHN AVERY. 



NOYES & DAVIS : 

PRESS OF THE BULLETIN CO., 

NORWICH, CONN. 

I901, 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS. 

Two Copies Received 

MAY. 31 1901 

COPVRIOHT ENTRY 

iCLASS <2/xXc. N» 
COPY 3. 



Entered according to Act of Congress 

with the Librarian at Washington, 

by Ledyard Bill, 

1901. 



^^:Va 



Preface. 

At the annual meeting of the Bill Library Association, held in 
Ledyard, Aug. 30, 1899, the writer read a paper on the Pequot 
Indians. It prompted Ledyard Bill, who was present, to suggest 
the preparation of a History of the Town of Ledyard, Mr. Bill 
offering to publish it, also to assist in its preparation. After a 
few months delay — during which the proposal was duly con- 
sidered — the work was begun, and the result is here given. 

To the many friends who have rendered assistance the un- 
dersigned tenders hearty thanks. Some have written portions 
of the work in full ; many have furnished facts and statistics that 
have been wrought into it. All has been done so cheerfully and 
thoroughly as greatly to relieve the difficulties and discourage- 
ments of the work. 

J. A. 

Norwich, Conn., 
1901. 



Table of Contents. 

CHAPTER I. 

Early History of the Town, etc. 

CHAPTER H. 
History of the Congregational Church and Society. 

CHAPTER HI. 

History of the St. James' Episcopal Church. 

CHAPTER IV. 
History of the Separatist Church. 

CHAPTER y. 
History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

CHAPTER VI. 

History of the Baptist Church. 

CHAPTER VII. 
History of the Rogerene Quakers. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Revolutionary War — 1775- 1783. 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Second War with England — 1812-15. 

CHAPTER X. 
The Civil War of 186 1-5. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 

CHAPTER XI. 
Family Histories and Genealogies. 

CHAPTER XH. 
Biographical Sketches. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

History of the Bill Library. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Pequot Indians. 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Norwich & Worcester Railroad. 

APPENDIX. 

Memorial of Separatists of Preston, North Groton, Norwich 

and Stonington to the General Assembly of Connecticut, 

October, 1751. 
Order to Sherifif Respecting Preston Separatists. 
Order for the Lay Out of the Principal Highw^ay Leading from 

Centre Groton to Preston Town Line in 1723. 
Names of School Teachers, Sixth School District. 
Letter of Samuel Capron to Col. Benadam Gallup. 
Letter of John Ouincy Adams to Norman B. Brown. 
Committee Appointed to Perambulate Line Between Groton 

and Preston. 
List of Probate Judges. 
Roll of the Fallen, on Soldiers' Monument. 
Catalogue of Deaths — 1713-1854. 



List of Illustrations. 

i Page. 

Allyn, Israel 171 

Allyn, Lt. Stanton 165 

Avery, Rev. Frederick D 177 

Avery, Henry W 175 

Avery House, The 73 

Avery, Rev. John 41 

Bill, Charles . 112 

Bill, Gurdon 106 

Bill, Hon. Henry 183 

Bill, Hon. Richard 104 

Bill, Rev. William, D. D 102 

Billings, Capt. James A 186 

Brewster, Hon. John 188 

Congregational Church, Frontispiece 

Cook, Rev. Nehemiah B 'i^J 

Cook, Lt. William T 192 

Cutting, Rev. Charles 39 

Episcopal Church, The St. James' 46 

Fanning, George 120 

Fort Decatur, 82 

Gallup, Dea. Erastus 203 

Gallup, Henry H 202 

Gallup Homestead, The 121 

Gallup, Isaac 197 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Gallup, Rev. James A 205 

Gallup, Maj. Jacob L 196 

Gallup, Dea. Russell 204 

Gallup, Dea. N. Sands 206 

Gale's Ferry R. R. Depot, 266 

Geer, Capt. Nathaniel B 209 

Geer, James L 129 

Hurlburt, Rev. Ralph 55 

Kinmouth, Rev. Albert E 43 

Latham, Thomas 141 

Larrabee, Capt. Adam 214 

Larrabee, Hon. Henry 219 

Larrabee, Capt. Nathan F. . . 218 

Larrabee, Gov. William 215 

Library, The Bill 243 

Methodist Episcopal Church, The 53 

Norman, Stephen H 223 

Parsonage, The Bill 40 

Peckham, Rev. Stephen H 58 

Plan of Fort Griswold, 76 

Spicer, Capt. Edmund 227 

Spicer, John S 228 

Stoddard, Ebenezer 160 

Stoddard, Guy C 229 

Tuttle, Rev. Timothy 35 

Williams, Denison B 161 

Williams, Hon. Elias Hewitt 239 

Winthrop, Gov. John, Jr 18 



CHAPTER I. 
The Town of Ledyard. 

The town of Ledyard, formerly the North Society of Groton, 
and earlier still a part of the town of New London, is situated in 
the south-eastern central part of New London County, and is 
bounded on the north by Preston, on the east by Stonington and 
North Stonington, on the south by Groton, and on the west 
by the Thames river, which separates it from Montville and 
Waterford. In form it is nearly square, and the distance from 
the northern boundary line to the southern is about six miles ; 
the distance from the eastern to the western, an average of about 
seven miles. The surface is rough and uneven, and much of it 
better adapted to grazing than to tillage. Yet the soil is fertile, 
and, when thoroughly subdued, gives good returns for the labor 
bestowed upon it. 

Near the north-east corner of the town — just over the line 
in North Stonington — is Lantern Hill, well-known as the first 
land seen by mariners approaching our coast. Some of them 
have spoken of it as looking, when it first comes into view, much 
like a round-crowned hat resting upon the ocean as far away as 
the eye can reach. It is a famous resort for picnic parties and 
others seeking a wide outlook upon greatly varied and charming 
scenery. 

In the south-west corner of the town is a tract of land — so^me 
thirty acres or more — which belongs to the United States Govern- 
ment, being a part of the Navy Yard established there upon the 
deep waters of the Thames about 1881. 

There are large deposits of granite in different parts of the 
town ; and some of them have been utilized, to a considerable 
extent, for building purposes. This is especially true of those 
located near the Thames river. 

Iron ore is found in some places, though not in sulificient 



lO HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

quantities to render it specially valuable. In one granite quarry 
in the northern central part of the town — on land belonging to 
the heirs of the late Israel Allyn — an ore was discovered some 
years since which was thought by a man who had worked in 
silver mines, to be silver ore. A specimen of it was sent to Prof. 
E. S. Dana, of Yale College, who pronounced it non-magnetic 
iron. 

A deposit of kaoline, located on Avery Hill, in the west part 
of the town, was worked some years since by the company that 
was then engaged in working the large silex mine near Lantern 
Hill. But while the silex proved to be remarkably fine in 
quality and well-nigh exhaustless in quantity, this was far from 
being the case with the kaoline; and the working of it was 
presently abandoned. Gold and silver, also nickel and copper, 
are found in a broad belt of granite which passes under the farm 
of Mr. Courtland Lamb in the south part of the town ; whether 
the percentage of metal in the granite is sufficient to pay for 
working has not yet been determined. 

The territory now covered by the town originally abounded 
in forests made up of oak, chestnut, ash, walnut, birch, maple, 
poplar, whitewood, cedar and other varieties of trees. These 
forests were largely cleared away by the first settlers and their 
immediate successors. But they were fast growing up, and ap- 
proaching their old-time proportions again, until a dozen or 
fifteen years ago the steam saw-mills came in, and have since 
greatly reduced the territory covered by them and done much 
damage to the beauty of many landscapes. There are several 
large cedar swamps in the town. One of them, near Lantern 
Hill, is nearly a mile in diameter ; another in the west part of the 
town about the same size. These swamps abound in cedars, 
pines, hemlocks, and have furnished, in years gone by, large 
quantities of valuable lumber — used both in house-building and 
ship-building. During the latter part ol the eighteenth century 
— from a time previous to the Revolutionary War — and on into 
the nineteenth century up to the War of 1812-15, a large trade 
with the West Indies, with various South American and Euro- 
pean ports, and even with more distant countries, was carried on 



THE TOWN OF LED YARD. II 

from Norwich and New London ; and the vessels engaged in this 
trade were mostly built in the last-named places. No small part 
of the timber used in building them was obtained from the forests 
of (North Groton) Ledyard. This was especially true of the 
spars, many of which were taken from "Mast Swamp," as it was 
called, in the west part of the town. During the first part of the 
nineteenth century, when the whaling business was largely car- 
ried on from New London much of the best material used in the 
construction of whale-boats was obtained in the cedar swamps of 
(North Groton) Ledyard. The underbrush growing among the 
evergreen trees in these swamps are often rhododendrons, which, 
in the season of their blooming early in the month of July, often 
attract large numbers of admiring spectators. Perhaps of all the 
deciduous trees native to the town, the most interesting and 
beautiful is the tulip tree. It may be found in the central por- 
tions along the principal highway from the ancient home of Peter 
Gallup to the present parsonage. A friend of the writer says 
that more than half a century ago he used, on Sunday mornings 
in summer, tO' stop under the shade of one of these fragrant trees 
at the foot of Newton's hill and rest before proceeding tO' church. 
This tree is now destroyed, but its progeny still exist. 

The evergreen swamps, with their surroundings, often present, 
in the early autumn, scenes which are admired by every beholder. 
The swamp itself, in the valley, retains its rich, deep green. The 
adjoining hill-sides, covered as they are with a great variety of 
trees, such as oak, chestnut, maple, birch, beech, assume almost 
every variety of color. In some places there is dark brown — in 
others, bright crimson — in some, rich golden hues — in others, 
light yellow approaching to whiteness. And all these varied 
colors are so charmingly mingled with each other that the com- 
bined effect of them is, in the highest degree, pleasing. A lover 
of nature, who, from some neighboring hill-top, had beheld one 
of these beautiful views, penned the following : 

"Autumn forests, so bright and so gay. 

Decked with green, brown, crimson and gold. 

Invite us among them to stay. 
And gaze on their beauties untold." 



12 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

During the early years of the occupancy of the territory by 
white settlers wild animals abounded in the forests. If bears 
were here to begin with they left at an early date. The same 
is true of the deer, though, in recent years, under the protection 
of law, a representative of the species has occasionally made a 
journey through the regions which were once perhaps inhabited 
by his ancestors. Wolves were numerous, and they stayed for. 
a good many years. Beavers were plenty in early colonial days, 
but long ago migrated to regions remote from civilization. But 
foxes, raccoons, woodchucks, skunks, minks, muskrats, rabbits 
and squirrels are still on the ground ; and these together with 
such game-birds as partridges, quails and woodcocks attract con- 
siderable numbers of hunters at certain seasons. Venomous rep- 
tiles were abundant in the early history of the region ; so much 
so as to be a serious annoyance to the settlers. Red-snakes oc- 
cupied the section near Lantern Hill ; and rattle-snakes, that on 
and around Candle-wood Hill. A story has come down to us, 
illustrating the manner in which our ancestors dealt with these 
uncomfortable occupants of the Candle-wood territory. An old 
Indian, resident in the neighborhood, offered, for a price which 
he named, to inaugurate a war of extermination against the 
venomous reptiles. His price was accepted, a bargain was made, 
and, after some preliminary preparations, he entered upon his 
work. The first important thing which he set himself to- do was, 
to capture, without killing, one of the harmful creatures against 
which the war was to be waged. He accordingly concealed him- 
self near the entrance to the clefts in the rocks which they in- 
habited. After several days of patient watching- he discovered a 
large rattle-snake lying quietly in the sun ofif quite a distance 
from his den. He approached him as noiselessly as possible, 
placed a crotched stick over his neck, and held hiin fast to the 
ground. He then called for help, which, being not far away, 
was soon present. His assistant took his place in holding the 
snake firmly in his place. He himself meantime proceeded to 
the performance of other parts of the plan which he had marked 
out. With a pointed knife he made a hole through the skin on 
the back of the snake, and into it slipped a strong cord which he 



THE TOWN OF LED YARD. '1 3 

tied firmly around the snake's body. To this cord he attached 
a powder horn filled with powder — its nozzle closed with a punk- 
wood stopple reaching well down into the powder. He then set 
fire to the outer end of the stopple, and after it had begun to 
burn freely, he headed the snake toward his hole and let him go, 
He soon disappeared under the rocks dragging the powder-horn 
with its burning stopple behind him. A signal was then given 
for the neighborhood to assemble ; and men and boys from far 
and near, armed with guns and clubs and stones, were promptly 
upon the ground. In due time the ignited stopple of the powder- 
horn burned down to the powder, and there was a tremendous 
explosion, by which rocks and stones were thrown in all direc- 
tions, and some of the snakes with them. Others, in their fright, 
left their quarters and attempted to escape, but were everywhere 
met and dispatched by the men and boys who were waiting to 
receive them. From this time onward dwellers in the Candle- 
wood district were not often seriously annoyed by rattle-snakes. 

But there were larger creatures than snakes that were 
troublesome in by-gone generations. Miss Caulkins quotes 
from the New London Records, "That upon Mond., the i6th 
day of Jan., 1709-10, being a very cold day, upon the report 
of a kennel of wolves, mortal enemies to our sheep and all our 
other creatures, was lodged and lay in ambuscade in the Cedar 
Swamp, waiting there for an opportunity to devour the harmless 
sheep ; upon information whereof, about thirty of our valiant 
men, well disciplined in arms and special conduct, assembled 
themselves and with great courage beset and surrounded the 
enemies in the said swamp, and shot down three of the brutish 
enemies, and brought their heads through the town in great 
triumph." 

Remarking upon this Record, Miss Caulkins says — "For 
thirty years after the date referred to in the above Record, a wolf- 
hunt was a customary annual sport. From ten to forty persons 
usually engaged in it, who surrounded and beat up some swamp 
in the neighborhood. Mill-pond Swamp and Cedar Swamp 
were frequently scoured for wolves in Nov., or the latter part of 
Oct. George, son of John Richards, had a bounty of £11 for 



14 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

wolves killed in the year 171 7. The bounty had been raised to 
twenty shillings per head. The bounty for killing a wild-cat was 
three shillings. It was not till 1714 that any enactment was 
made to encourage the killing of foxes. At that time a bounty 
was offered of- three shillings for a grown fox; with whelps, four 
shillings; a whelp, one shilling." (History oi N. L., 404-5). 

The town contains a large number of excellent springs of 
water. They are found in almost every part of it — sometimes 
breaking out by the sides of rocks or at the roots of trees — 
sometimes bubbling up through sand or gravel in open fields, 
and flowing off through woods or meadows, and uniting with 
similar rivulets coming from different directions to form rush- 
ing streams. These springs generally send forth water of 
superior quality; and not a few of them are never-failing — the 
dryest seasons do not fully check their flow. 

The waters from the north part of the town empty into 
Poquetanuck River and Poquetanuck Cove, and thence find 
their way to the Thames River and Long Island Sound. Those 
in the west part flow directly into the Thames. Those in the 
eastern, central and southern portions find their way through 
the ponds near Lantern Hill and other channels into the Mystic 
River, and all at length into the Sound. The numerous spring 
brooks in the town are favorite resorts for trout ; and considera- 
ble numbers of them are caught by fishermen "when the law is 
off." In the ponds on the east border, pickerel, perch, pumpkin- 
seeds, bullheads and shiners are sometimes taken in considerable 
numbers. In the Thames River shad and alewives were formerly 
very abundant ; but since the dam at Greeneville was built they 
have left. Some of the varieties of fish which remain are striped 
bass, blue-fish, flat-fish, weak-fish and smelts ; oysters and crabs 
are also found in the river, and clams upon its shores. 

On the streams which run through the town or skirt its 
borders are water privileges which were perhaps more largely 
utilized formerly than they have been in recent years — some 
industries which called them into use being no longer prosecuted. 
The carding machines, the fulling mills, the cloth dressing es- 
tablishments — so common a hundred years ago — are no longer 



THE TOWN OF LEDYARD, 15 

needed. The place of the cloth which was made from wool 
sheared from sheep raised on the home-farm, spun and wove in 
the family, and fulled and dressed at a neighboring mill, is now 
supplied by that made at the great manufacturing establishments, 
built up by the sides of our rivers, where styles of goods are 
made, far superior to those of the olden time, and by processes 
which, for rapidity and excellence of workmanship, put to shame 
all the old-time ways of doing such things. So the leather that 
was made at the neighborhood tannery from hides taken from 
animals butchered by the farmer upoii his own premises, and by 
some neighboring shoe-maker made into boots and shoes for the 
use of the family, is no longer needed, as ready-made shoes, far 
superior to those of former times, are everywhere sold at reason- 
able prices ; and nobody cares to go back to the old-fashioned 
ways in matters of this sort. 

Still the local water-powers are to some extent useful. The 
grist-mill is still running, to provide corn-meal and rye-meal for 
the lovers of old-fashioned rye and Indian bread, and provender 
for the feeding of animals, especially those that are being fattened 
for market. Saw-mills and shingle-mills, too, still supply por- 
tions of the lumber used in building. 

Agriculturally, the town of Ledyard has been compared to a 
pumpkin ; the best part of it being on the outside. And it is true 
that the farms upon the out-skirts are, as a rule, more easily 
tilled than those in the central portion, yet, perhaps, no more 
productive. 

The crops cultivated by the farmers are quite various. The 
principal cereals are corn, rye, buckwheat and oats ; the vegeta- 
bles, potatoes and turnips ; the fruits, apples, pears and peaches ; 
and the small fruits, strawberries and raspberries. It is interest- 
ing to note just here that Indian corn was a new thing to our 
ancestors, and that the Indians themselves showed them how to 
cultivate and prepare it for food. The strawberry, fifty or sixty 
years ago, was known chiefly as a wild fruit — of small size, and 
very limited in quantity. It is now one of the most valuable 
crops cultivated in the town. Many of the larger farmers rely 
upon it more than upon any other one thing. In the height of 



10 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

the season from some single farms have been shipped from 2,000 
to 6,000 baskets a day. They have been sold in nearly all the 
cities and villages of Eastern Connecticut ; and not a few have 
gone to Worcester and other places in Massachusetts. The 
peach crop, which was once very abundant, and then, by reason 
of disease in the trees, diminished in quantity till it was almost 
an entire failure, has been greatly revived in recent years. Large 
quantities of this delicious fruit are raised, which command ready 
sales at remunerative prices. A good many of the farmers rely 
largely upon the products of their dairies. Others fatten for the 
market, beef, pork, mutton and veal. Others raise and sell large 
numbers oi turkeys, chickens, geese and ducks. And many 
depend very much upon eggs, the demand for which is so great 
that it is seldom fully supplied. Finally, it may be said that of 
all the towns in Eastern Connecticut, this town excels in the 
growth and cultivation of the small fruits and their cash value 
probably exceeds that of any other of its products, so that it has 
come about that the central portion of the town yields more of 
profit to the farmer than the out-skirts where nature was original - 
ly far more kind to agriculture in general. 

Wheat was largely cultivated in former years. But, after a 
while, the crop began to- suffer from the ravages of the weevil 
and from unfavorable seasons. At length the great wheat-fields 
of the West, with the modern facilities for transportation, ren- 
dered it more advantageous to the farmer to buy his wheat-flour 
than attempt to cultivate such an uncertain crop. 

Flax was much relied upon in the olden time. The cloth 
made from it was entirely a home product. The plant was grown 
and rotted"and broken and hetcheled and spun and wove into 
strong cloth by the family themselves. And this cloth was used 
for towels and sheets and shirts and summer jackets, vests and 
pantaloons, and a great many other purposes. All this has 
passed away, and linen and cotton goods, from raw materials 
raised in other parts of the country, and manufactured by 
processes widely different from those which prevailed in the days 
of home-spun, have come, and come, doubtless, to stay. 

The silk culture, which was carried on in a good many fami- 



1 



THE TOWN OF LEDVARD. I7 

lies, sixty to eighty years ago, and was quite a source of profit 
to them, has been abandoned ; and the trees from whose leaves 
the worms were fed— the white mulberry and the multicaulis — 
have nearly disappeared. Silk, in its raw state, is now obtained 
in lands where labor is much cheaper than it is here ; and is 
manufactured in large establishments where the art is carried to 
a high degree of perfection. There are establishments of this 
sort in Norwich. Preston side, New London and near Hartford. 

The earliest occupants of the territory, which makes up the 
town of Ledyard, were, so far as known, the Pequot Indians — 
some account of whom is given in another place. Their succes- 
sors, who are now upon the ground, are largely the descendants 
of English Puritans, who came to this country during the first 
half of the seventeenth century. Some of them were in the first 
company of emigrants, who landed upon Plymouth Rock, Dec. 
21, 1620. Others came at later dates — a good many between 
1620 and 1640. The majority of them settled first in eastern 
Massachusetts, but moved to Connecticut about 1650 — some a 
year or two earlier ; a larger number several years later, and 
settled at New London and Groton and Stonington — the two 
last named towns being at that time parts of New London. 

A few pioneer settlers found their way up the Thames River 
into what is now Ledyard within a few years after the settlement 
of New London. There were not a great many, however, that 
did this till near 1700. In the years that immediately preceded 
and followed this date a considerable number of families — made 
up largely of the grand-children of the first settlers at New Lon- 
don — located permanently within the present boundaries of 
Ledyard. Thus four at least of the grand-children of James 
Avery (who moved from Gloucester, Mass.. about 1649 or 50. 
settled in New London, and later, about 1700, moved to 
Poquonnoc), settled on Avery Hill near Poquetanuck Cove. 
Among the earliest settlers were those at Allyn's Point. 

John Winthrop, Jr., left Massachusetts P)ay and sailed to the 
Thames River and up that river, and located in that part of 
Groton. now Ledyard, and known later as Allyn's Point. Win- 
throp l)rought with him (juite a number of the original settlers. 
2 



l8 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

and came with the authority of the Bay Colony at Boston. He 
gave the name of Groton to the territory in honor of the name of 
"Groton manor" of England, from whence he came. He subse- 
quently became the Governor of the Connecticut Colony and 
was a man highly respected and much honored. 

"Other early settlers in the region were Robert AUyn, Philip 
Bill, Jonathan Brewster, William Chapman, Edward Culver, Silas 




Gov. John Winthrop, Jr. 

Deane, Edmund Fanning, George Geer, John Hurlbutt, William 
Maynard, Benadam Gallup, Isaac' Lamb, Robert Park, Peter 
Spicei", Ralph Stoddard, Ezekiel Turner and William Williams." 
— Miss Caulkins. 

Those who were church members retained their church con- 
nections in Groton for quite a number of years. Religious serv- 
ices, however, were held from time to time in their homes. In 
due time they began to move in the matter of establishing a 
Church in the region where they resided. 



THE TOWN OF LEnVARD. 1I9 

The Ecclesiastical Society was formed in 1725 — the center of 
the territory covered by it was found by actual measurement — 
and upon it the erection of a meeting house was begun in 1727. 
While the work was going on Mr. Samuel Seabury, a Licentiate, 
son of Dea. John Seabury, of Grotoii, was engaged as a supply. 
Four places were designated, in which ten sermons were tO' be 
preached. One of the places was the house of Dea. William 
Morgan — now (1900J owned and occupied by Mr. Billings T. 
Avery — in which six of the sermons were to be preached. The 
other preaching places were the houses of Capt. John Morgan, 
Robert Allyn and Ensign William Williams. The Church was 
organized and a minister settled in 1729. Fuller particulars are 
given in another part of this volume. 

Though the people in the Second or North Society, as it was 
called, were now, in ecclesiastical matters, quite independent of 
those in the south part of the town, they were still associated 
with them m town affairs, and remained so a great many years. 
A little previous to the Revolutionary War — also during the War 
— the subject of forming a new town out of the Second Society 
was considerably agitated. But after the massacre at Fort Gris- 
wold, in which large numbers of the leading men in both Societies 
were slain, and those who remained were drawn into closer 
sympathy with each other than they had been, the matter was 
laid aside. In after years it came up again from time to time ; 
but for one reason or another the project failed, until at last it 
was consummated in 1836. After the recjuisite preliminary steps 
were taken, application in due form was made to the Legislature, 
and in the course of the session that year, action was taken ; and 
the Second Society of Groton became the town of Ledyard. The 
name was given in honor of Col. William Ledyard, of Groton, 
the heroic Commander of Fort Griswold on the fatal sixth of 
September, 1781. The action of the Legislature in the premises 
was as follows : 

"An xA.ct to Incorporate the Town of Ledyard. 
"Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representa- 
tives in General Assembly, convened : 

"Section I. All that part of the Town of Groton iil the 



20 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

County of New London, lying North of the Hne dividing the first 
and Second School Societies, in said town, is hereby made and 
constituted a separate and distinct town by the name of the town 
of Ledyard ; and all the inhabitants now or at any time hereafter 
residing North of said line, in said town, shall be and remain a 
separate and distinct corporation with all the powers, rights and 
privileges, and subject to all the liabilities and obligations of 
other towns in this State, with the right of sending one Repre- 
sentative to the General Assembly." 

Action was soon taken by the town thus incorporated to pro- 
vide itself with officers for the administration of its afifairs. At 
a meeting, called for the purpose, June ii, 1836, it was voted to 
have but three selectmen; and Capt. Anson Avery, Capt. Henry 
Hallet and Mr. Noah Davis were appointed. 

In the Constitution of the State, adopted in the year 181 8, 
Art. III., Sec. 3, is as follows : 

"The House of Representatives shall consist of electors re- 
siding in towns from which they are elected. The number of 
representatives from each town shall be the same as at present 
practiced and allowed. In case a new town shall hereafter be 
incorporated, such new town shall be entitled to one representa- 
tive only; and if such new town shall be made from one or more 
towns, the town or towns, from which the same shall be made, 
shall be entitled to the same number ol representatives as at 
present allowed, unless the number shall be reduced by the con- 
sent of such town or towns." 

In accordance with this provision, Ledyard has had but one 
representative from the time of its incorporation to the present. 
The following list of its representatives has been furnished by 
George Fanning : 

Representatives from Ledyard in the Legislature. 

1836 Capt. Anson Avery, Democrat. 

1837 Capt. Anson Avery, Democrat. 

1838 Capt. Henry Hallet. Democrat. 

1839 Capt. Henry Hallet, Democrat. 



THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



21 



1840 Capt. Sanford Stoddard, Whig. 

1841 Denison B. Williams, Democrat. 

1842 Daniel Lamb, Democrat. 

1843 Col. Roswell AUyn, Democrat. 

1844 Capt. Jacob Gallup, Democrat. 

1845 Seabiiry Thomas, Democrat. 

1846 Col. Elias W. Brown, Democrat. 

1847 Capt. John Brewster, Whig. 

1848 Capt. Jacob Gallup, Democrat. 

1849 Capt. Edmund Spicer, Democrat. 

1850 Capt. Elisha A. Satterlee, Democrat. 

1851 Capt. John Brewster, Whig. 

1852 Col. Elias W. Brown, Democrat. 

1853 William M. Gray, Whig. 

1854 Ralph Hurlbutt, Whig. 

1855 Col. Elias W. Brown, Democrat. 

1856 Maj. Jacob L. Gallup, Democrat. 

1857 Nehemiah W. Gallup, Democrat. 

1858 William L. Main, Democrat. 

1859 Park A. Williams, Democrat. 
i860 Stiles Crandall, Democrat. 

1861 Ambrose Reynolds, Democrat. 

1862 Capt. Washington Avery, Democrat. 

1863 William Fanning, Democrat. 

1864 Asa L. Gallup, Democrat. 

1865 Benj. F. Lewis. Whig. 

1866 Maj. Jacob L. Gallup, " Democrat. 

1867 Nehemiah M. Gallup, Democrat. 

1868 Henry Larrabee, Republican. 

1869 Israel Allyn, Republican. 

1870 Henry Stoddard, Democrat. 

1 87 1 William J. Brown, Democrat. 

1872 Alonzo W. Turner, Democrat. 

1873 Capt. Chris. A. Brown, Republican. 

1874 La Fayette H. Griswold, Democrat. 

1875 William L. i\Iain. Democrat. 

1876 Franklin Brewster, Republican. 



22 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LFDYARD. 



1877 


William T. Cook, 


Republican. 


1878 


Capt. John Brewster, 


Republican. 


1879 


Lt. William T. Cook, 


Republican. 


1880 


S. Ashbel Crandall, 


Democrat. 


1881 


Capt. James A. Billings, 


Republican. 


1882 


William J. Brown, 


Democrat. 


1883 


Stephen H. Peckham, 


Democrat. 


1884 


Chas. A. Satterlee, 


Republican. 


1885 


Hiram A. Hempstead, 


Democrat. 


1886 


Courtland Lamb, 


Democrat. 


1888 


Hiram A. Hempstead, 


Democrat. 


1890 


George W. Spicer, 


Democrat, 


1892 


George W. Spicer, 


Democrat, 


1894 


Chas. A. Gr^y, 


Democrat 


1896 


Nathan S. Gallnp, 


Republican 


1898 


Jacob Gallup, 


Democrat 


1900 


Daniel Lamb, 


Republican 



The town of Ledyard contains fourteen school districts. For 
several years past a nimibcr has been attached to each of these 
districts, and, in the official reports to the town and the State, 
each district is referred to by its number. But long before these 
numbers were used each district had a name of its own — a name 
that had come down from former generations — and that still 
clings to it. It seems not improper therefore to put these names 
on record in this place. 

The district in the eo>ctreme north-east corner of the town is 
known as the Lantern Hill district, in recognition of its proximity 
to that famous land-mark of mariners approaching our coast. 
Some of the families belonging in this district reside in North 
Stonington. The district directly south of this is Cider hill, tak- 
ing its name from that of an elevated stretch of land and the good 
cider made within its borders. South of this is the Gallup Hill 
district, named from the families that were more or less numerous 
in the district at the time of christening. In the northern central 
part of the town is tlie Church Hill district — the name given from 
the fact that, for about fifty years, the Episcopal Church, which 



THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 23 

was removed to Poquetanuck in the year 1785, stood upon the 
same hill, though nearly half a mile away. East of this is a frac- 
tional district, including *Shewville, the scholars from which at- 
tend school on Avery's Plains in the town of Preston. A mile 
and a half west of the Church Hill school-house is that of the Geer 
district. And some two miles south of it is that of the Center 
district — located very nearly in the geographical center of the 
town. A mile and a quarter east of the Center school-house is 
that of the Morgan district — a mile and a half west of it that of 
Unionville, and less than two miles south of it that of Lamb 
Town. In the north-west corner of the town is a new school- 
house — not far from the drawbridge over Poquetanuck Cove. 
The families which send their children to it formerly belonged to 
the Avery Hill district which has gone down. Some who were 
once connected with this last-named district now attend school 
in Poquetannuck — some in the Geer district — some in Unionville. 
South of this north-west district, and somewhat more than half 
way down to the south boundary-line of the town is the school- 
house of the Gale's Ferry district ; and off north-east of this is 
that of the Stoddard district. South-east from this is that of the 
Lester district. And then in the south-west corner of the town, 
is the Long Cove district, upon a body of water whose name it 
bears. 

Each of these fourteen districts has a history of its own. In 
some — indeed in most of them — the history covers a long stretch 
of years, and is specially interesting tO' those who have partici- 
pated in its varied scenes, and also to many who have succeeded 
them. In many instances the residents are proud of their district, 
and often dilate with enthusiasm upon the events that have oc- 
curred in it, and extol the noble qualities of the men and women 
that have been educated in their school and fitted for eminent 
usefulness in the world. In the biographical and family sketches, 
which appear in other parts of this volume, there is considerable 
proof that their views of the subject are not wholly unauthorized. 

There have been times in the historv of each of these districts 



*Foi'merly Ayer's Mills, 



24 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

when the school-houses were filled with scholars — almost every 
seat occupied. But this is far from being the case at the present 
time. About every district has at times had teachers that de- 
veloped a high order of fitness for their work ; and some teachers 
of this stamp have been called to much wider fields of usefulness 
than any which were here opened to them. Not a few scholars, 
who received their early intellectual training in these little red 
school-houses, have, as their lives advanced, become members 
of academic and collegiate institutions, and in them developing 
superior talents, have at later stages in life, filled, with eminent 
ability and success, high and honorable positions. 

The training received in the public schools of the town has 
been supplemented in various ways. 

An important factor in the training of some of the young- 
men was the debating society — formed at the centre of the town — 
having its home at the Centre school-house during the winters 
for quite a numl)er of years. Prominent among the members 
was Col. Elias W. Brown, who was president of the club. Its 
membership eml)raced about all of the young men living in the 
Centre and adjoining districts, and visitors from out of town 
frequently attended and took part in the discussions. They 
grappled with about all of the knott}- pul)lic questions of that 
day — from 1848 to i860 — and settled them all to their satisfaction. 
It was a useful, instructive and important aid in the education of 
all attending. 

In former years the young men, who wished to study survey- 
ing, navigation and kindred branches often sought instruction 
from the Dal)olls — father and son — of Center Groton. In the 
30's and 40's of the nineteenth century, a good many pursued 
similar studies with Mr. Joseph H. Gallup, of Poquetanuck, a 
graduate of Yale College in the class of 1827. 

Rev. ]\Ir. Tuttle, during a large part of his ministry, which 
extended from 1810 to 1864, was accustomed to teach young 
men who ajjplied to him, not only in the higher branch of com- 
mon school education, but in the Latin and Greek languages, 
thus fitting them to enter college. Rev. Mr. Cutting, during his 
residence in Ledvard — 1868 to 1881 — did similar work. Miss 



THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 25 

Anna Maria Tuttle (afterward Mrs. N. B. Cook), taught many 
of the young ladies of the place in branches which they did not 
have facilities for studying in the district schools. 

In several years, not very far back in the' past, select schools 
iiave been taught in the town— generally in the Center district — 
which have awakened great interest and proved themselves high- 
ly beneficial. They usually began in the latter part of August 
and continued al^out eight weeks. The number of scholars in 
attendance ranged from about twenty to forty. Mr. Samuel 
Lamb was the teacher in the years 1867, 1868 and 1877 — Mr. 
George Fanning in the years 1869, 1870 and 1871 — Miss Mary 
A. C. Avery, of Mount Holyoke Seminary, in the year 1884 — 
and Mr. William M. Gallup, of Yale University, in the year 1886. 

When Bacon Academy of Colchester was in a verv flourish- 
ing condition — along in the early and middle portion of the 
nineteenth century — a considerable number of young people from 
Ledyard patronized it, as also Plainfield Academy, the Sufifield 
(Connecticut) Literary Institution, and the Academy at Poque- 
tanuck, established by the Rev. Mr. Roberts, rector of St. 
James' Church at that place. This last named school, ho^vever, 
was soon abandoned and later the house was moved into the 
village of Poquetanuck to serve as a common school building. 
Since the establishment of the Free Academy at Norwich, many 
have availed themselves of the advantages which it offers ; and 
some of them have won high encomiums from their well-quali- 
fied and experienced teachers. 

The population of the town, at the time of its incorporation, 
was about 2,000. In 1880 it was not far from 1,400. The census 
of 1900 gives the following statistics: 

Number of living inhabitants 1,218 

Number of Indians on reservation 18 

Total 1 ,236 

Number of farms 212 

Number of manufacturing establishments. . 12 

Number of persons, deaf and dumb or blind . 1 1 

Number of persons, 70 years old and over. . 94 



26 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

The decline in population is owing partly to the fact that 
much smaller numbers of children are born in the families than 
in previous generations ; but more especially to the increased 
emigration from the "worn-out farms," as they are called, to the 
more productive regions of the West, and to the neighboring 
cities and villages which, for many years past, have been rapidly 
increasing, and opening various industrial pursuits which are 
much more remunerative than farming on the hard soil, not only 
of Ledyard, but of all New England as well. 

This emigration began very early in the history of this part 
of the country. In the enterprise, which was started a little 
previous to 1700, and completed a few years after for securing 
for "volunteers in former wars," a tract of land six miles square — • 
to be distributed among those justly entitled to shares ; the 
Averys, the Parks, the Stantons, the Smiths, and others from 
Grotoii and vicinity had a part. The enterprise resulted in the 
settlement of Voluntown (/. c. Volunteer Town); and several 
men, of the names above-given, located there with their families ; 
and some of their descendants are there to-day. 

Between 125 and 150 years ago many people moved, from 
southern to northern New England — from Connecticut and 
Massachusetts to New Hampshire and Vermont. Among those 
who went from this region were Averys, Brewsters, Parks and 
others. 

About the same time and a little later considerable numbers 
moved from Eastern Connecticut to Eastern Pennsylvania — into 
the Wyoming Valley and adjacent regions ; and North Groton 
had her representatives among them, in the persons of Averys, 
Packers, Hurlbuts and others. 

So also, when, from a few years before 1800 on for more 
tiian half a century, the tide was moving westward into Central 
and Western New York, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois. Iowa 
and territories still further on toward the Rockies ; there were 
Allyns and Geers and Morgans and Gallups and Williamses and 
a good many others from North Groton swept along with it. 

But the largest out-flow from the place, at any one period, 
was that to California in the years 1849-1853, inclusive. 



TIIK TOWN OF LED YARD. 2/ 

In it were included over thirty young- men, who went out in 
as many as four different companies. One company, of six, 
started from New London in a sailing vessel, January 28, 1849; 
another, of twelve, on the third of February following; and still 
another, of two, a year later. All these went around Cape Horn. 
In the spring of 1853 a company of eight went by steamer to 
Aspinwall, by rail and boat and mules to Panama, and thence by 
steamer to San Francisco. 

In these four parties were six men by each of the names 
Gallup and Stoddard, four by the name of Chapman, three by the 
name of Allyn, two by each of the names Arthur, Lester, Morgan, 
Perkins, Turner, and one by each of the names Brown, Miner, 
Norman. O'Brien, Rogers and Williams; thirty-three in all. 

Several of these, after a few months' experience in the land 
of gold, returned and settled down in the East. Several others 
came back, married wives in their native place, and returned to 
make California their permanent home. 

Since the rush to California most of the removals from the 
town have been to Norwich, New London, Mystic and other 
places not far away. Young persons, and persons in middle 
life too, have gone — some to labor as carpenters and masons, 
some to serve as clerks and book-keepers, some to establish 
themselves in business. The removals have been constantly go- 
ing on, and constantly reducing the home-population ; for the 
numbers moving away have been greater than the numbers 
moving in. 

A heavy drain upon the young life of the community in 
former years was the trade with foreign ports, in which North 
Groton took such an active part. Between the years 1770 and 
1814 some thirty or forty men from the place were lost at sea, 
or died at sea or in foreign ports. So when the whaling business 
was vigorously prosecuted in New London, from fifty to seventy- 
five years ago, there were similar losses of life in that perilous 
employment. 

But war has carried off larger numbers than any industrial 
pursuit, whether by land or sea. A large number, in the aggre- 
gate, of young men living here have been from time to time 



28 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

called forth as soldiers whenever any war was on foot. In the 
French and Indian wars, a century and a half ago, several from 
North Groton were engaged — some of them at the sacrifice of 
their lives. Also during the first three years of the Revolution 
no less than fifteen I'equot Indians went forth from their reserva- 
tion, and, becoming connected with the army, died in the service. 
And then in the awful massacre at Fort Griswold, twenty-six 
young men from North Groton were among the unhappy victims. 
In the Civil War of 1861-5, many lost their lives, and their names 
may be found upon the roll of honor on the monument erected 
at the center of the town to perpetuate their memory. A list 
of those engaged in various wars, so far as known, is given 
further on. 

A mere glance at these painful facts can hardly fail to awaken 
in the bosom an ardent longing for the time when men "shall 
l)eat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning- 
hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
they learn war any more ;" and yet, the nineteenth century, now 
closed, will be considered, by historians, the most important 
and influential, so far as it relates to the inhabitants of the earth, 
of any preceding century ; it gave to the world railways, steam- 
ships, lucifer matches, photography, anaesthetics, antiquity of man, 
evolution established, electric telegraph, electric storage batteries, 
Roetengen rays, germ theory of disease, illuminating gas, the 
oil of the earth, multiplied colors, the Jacquard loom, the cotton 
gin, the sewing machine, conservation of energy, the telephone, 
wireless telegraphy, compressed air, electric railways, Maxim 
guns, Krupp rifled cannon, iron shipping, steel-clad battle ships, 
spectrum analyses, submarine telephoning, paper from wood, the 
phonograph and molecular theory of gases. These sum up more, 
in number, and are of larger import to mankind than all the in- 
ventions of all preceding centuries, and still, notwithstanding 
these improvements and advantages, more of war and more of 
trained soldiers lined up in battle array appeared than in all the 
])rcvious world's history, perhaps ! Out of these things, however, 
the races of men have been uplifted, liberty and equality more 
firmly established and civilization greatly advanced. Many millions 



THE TOWN OF LEDVARD. 2g 

^f oiir fellow men. in two hemispheres-, give thanks for enlarg^ed 
liberty and millions more take renewed courage in consequence 
ji the achievements of tlie century now closed. But what of the 
new, the twentieth century, just dawned upon us? Let us hope 
for better and larger things for those who shall come after us. 

"Our mother earth, whose ages none may tell, 
Puts on no change ; time bids not her wax pale 

Or kindle, quenched or quickened, when the knell 
Sounds, and we cry across the veering gale 

Farewell — and midnight answers us. Farewell ; 
Flail — and the heaven of morning answers. Hail." 



CHAPTER 11. 
The Congregational Church. 

The town of Ledyard was set off from Groton and incor- 
porated in 1836. Previous to this the territory which it covers 
was for many years known as the Second or North Parish in 
Groton. I'he Ecclesiastical Society in this North Parish was 
organized in 1725, with six or seven members, and at once took 
measures to find, by actual measurement, the exact centre of 
the parish as the proper place for a meeting-house. That centre 
was found to be "in the north-east corner of Stephen Morgan's 
goat pasture." Upon the spot thus designated the erection of a 
meeting-house was begun in 1727. The present church edifice 
stands partly on the same ground, but a little further back from 
the highway. The Congregational Church was organized in 
1729. The early history of the Church for about 80 years, is 
veiled in obscurity. During the last 39 of these 80 years the 
Church had no settled pastor, and at sometime in this period 
became extinct ; and its records, if it ever had any, have been 
lost. Rev. Mr. Tuttle, in a historic sketch, says, 'Tn respect to 
the state of the Church during its early history,, whether its cir- 
cumstances were prosperous at any time, or only adverse, or at 
what particular time it ceased to be, even tradition now affords 
no light." 

Still considerable is known of the men who ministered to the 
Church in this obscure portion of its history. Public worshij) 
seems to have been established and maintained— for how long 
a time and with how much regularity we know not — previous to 
the formation of a Church as such. 



THE CON'CRl'.CA rioXAT, C'Ul'RCIt. 3t 

The first resident preacher, of whom we have any definite 
knowledge, was 

Rev. Saml'el Seabury, 

a Licentiate, who Ijecame later an Episcopalian before he was 
ordained ; entered the Episcopalian ministry, and was, for many 
years, rector of St. James's Church, New London. He was a 
son of John Seabury, deacon of the Congregational Church in 
Groton, and was educated at Yale College and Harvard Univer- 
sity, and graduated from the last-named institution in 1724. 
While supplying at North Groton he occupied a house standing 
on the lane that leads westward from the Bill parsonage. In 
this house was born his oldest son, Samuel Seabury, Jr., who be- 
came the first Episcopal Bishop in America. A more extended 
sketch of him is given further along in this volume. 

The first ordained pastor of the Church was 

Rev. Ebexxezer Punderson. 

He was a native of New Haven, and a graduate of Yale Col- 
lege, in the class of 1726. On the 25th of Dec, 1729, he was 
ordained pastor of this Church, being at the time only 21 years 
of age. His pastorate continued less than five years, being 
terminated by council, Eeb. 5, 1734. While ministering to this 
people he lived in a house which stood oiif north-west from the 
Church, on the opposite side of the road from the house of Mr. 
George H. OTjrien. The early termination of his ministry in 
this Church was owing to the fact of his going over to Epis- 
copacy. On the first of January, previous tO' his dismission, he 
made a communication to the Society, avowing himself a con- 
formist to the Episcopal Church of England. This communica- 
tion, it is said, "was received with amazement and sorrow, and 
a committee chosen, consisting of Robert Geer, Christopher 
Avery and Benadam Gallup, to reason with him, and see if he 
might not be persuaded that his ordination was good and that 
he might return to his people again." But notwithstanding all 
that was done by the committee and others, Mr. Punderson per- 



32 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

sisted in his course. After his dismission he went to England 
and received Episcopal ordination. Returning to this country 
he served for a good many years as an itinerant missionary of an 
organization in England known as "The Society for Propagating 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts," giving his time largely to North 
Groton during the earlier portion of the period, but, at later 
dates, travelling all over the State and into neighboring States, 
and preaching in a great many dififerent places. About 1752 or 
1753 he petitioned the Society that he might become their settled 
missionary in New Haven ; and his petition was granted. At a 
later date he labored in Rye, N. Y., where he died in the year 
I77i,aged63. 

The second pastor of the Chinxh was 

Rev. Andrew Croswell. 

He was a native of Charlestown, Mass., and was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1728. He was ordained here, Oct. 14, 
1736. "The settlement offered him was two hundred pounds 
per annum for the first two years, and one hundred and ten 
pounds afterward." He was to be paid "in bills of public credit 
of this and the neighboring Governments" — a kind of paper cur- 
rency, then in use, which was already depreciated, and which 
continued to depreciate. The Society stipulated that "in case 
he should withdraw from the estabhshed religion of this govern- 
ment to any other persuasion he should return two hundred 
pounds to the Society." Like Mr. Owen, of Groton, and Mr. 
Parsons, of Lyme, Mr. Croswell was in sympathy with Edwards 
and Whitefield, and even with the erratic Davenport in the New 
Light movement or the Great Awakening. And in the interest 
of this movement he is said to have preached a good deal in 
other parishes besides his own. Though regularly ordained by 
council as pastor of this Church, he was dismissed without the 
intervention of a coimcil — he himself giving the Society notice 
of his intention to leave them — they voting not to oppose him in 
the matter though disapproving of his course — he then giving 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 33 

in his formal resignation ; and the Society, some two years later, 
voting that he was dismissed. This last named vote was passed 
in April, 1748. While living here he occupied the house that 
stands on the top of the hill out east of the Church. On Oct. ',, 
1748, he was installed over a newly-formed organization in Bos- 
ton, calling itself the Eleventh Congregational Church. Though 
the enterprise was started in such a way that some of the other 
Churches regarded it as irregular, and as setting a bad precedent 
it seemed to succeed fairly well. For Mr. Croswell continued 
to be the pastor for almost forty years — dying in office, April 12, 
1785, at the age of 76, having been several years blind. He pub- 
lished a large number of sermons and essays — quite a number 
of them of a controversial character. Among these publications 
are the following: "What is Christ to me, if he is not mine? or 
a Reasonable Defense of the Old Protestant Doctrine of Justifica- 
tion by Faith. 1745." "Second Defense of the Old Protestant 
Doctrine of Justification by Faith, being a reply to the excep- 
tions of Rev. Solomon Williams, against a book entitled, 'What 
is Christ to me,' &c., 1747." "Heaven shut against Arminians 
and Antinomians — a Sermon, 1747." 

The next pastor was 

Rev. Jacob Johnson. 

Rev. Mr. Tuttle, in his forty-eighth anniversary sermon, 
makes these statements in regard to him : 'T have understood 
that he was a native of Wallingford. He was a graduate of Yale 
College, in the class of 1740. He was ordained here in June, 
1749, and continued in the pastoral office about twenty-three 
years. In making provision for his support, the Society, at its 
meeting, March 10, 1749, voted, 'that Mr. Jacob Johnson should 
have four hundred pounds settlement, and three hundred pounds 
in old tenor bills salary yearly, as long as he continues tO' be our 
Gospel preaching minister.' Another vote was passed affirming 
that the amount, both of the settlement and the salary of Mr. 
Johnson, should vary as the prices of provisions varied at the 
time when the money was paid. And it was further stipulated 
.3 



34 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDVARD. 

that, if Mr. Johnson should withdraw himself to any other per- 
suasion, he should return the four hundred pounds settlement 
to the Society again, in the same value as he received it. In Oct., 
1772, at a Society meeting, he asked for a dismission, and his 
request was readily granted. No mention is made of any council 
called for the purpose of his dismission. He married a Miss 
Giddings, of Preston, by whom he had several children. He 
owned a farm, on which he labored for part of his maintainance. 
A piece of swamp land was cleared by him and cultivated." He 
lived in the same house that his predecessor, Mr. Croswell, had 
occupied. A child of his lies buried near that house. Sooii 
after he was dismissed in 1772, he left this place, and went to 
Wilksbarre, Pa., where he died in 1794. For many years after 
his removal the old Church, in which he here preached, was 
known as Johnson's meeting house. 

The Interim. 

After the dismission of Mr. Johnson, for about 39 years, the 
parish was without a settled minister. The place was not wholly 
without religious services during all this period. But the serv- 
ices were probably not very regularly sustained ; and for a con- 
siderable time in one portion of the period, entirely intermitted. 
For tradition atifirms that at one time the sanctuary had become 
so dilapidated that the cattle, that were wont to feed upon the 
green nearby, would walk in at the open doors and occupy the 
premises as a shelter from the scorching suns or the raging 
storms. In this state of things, religion, of course, did not pros- 
per — the Church as an organized body of Christian believers be- 
came extinct, and the whole region lapsed intO' a state of moral 
desolation. There were some, doubtless, who deplored this sad 
condition of things and wept over it, and prayed and hoped for 
better times. And when at length there was a fair prospect of 
another minister being settled among them were ready to do all 
that lay in their power to secure the invaluable boon. It was in 
conjunction with the First Church in Groton (which had also 
been without a pastor for 15 years) that the end was secured. 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



35 



Rev. Timothy Tuttle, 
a native of East Haven, and a graduate of Yale College, was 
the man whom the two Churches united in calling to be their 

joint pastor; the arrange- 
ment being that he should 
give half his services to 
each Church — preaching in 
one Church one Sabbath 
and in the other Church 
the next Sabbath, and that 
the two Churches should 
share equally in paying 
him a salary of $450 a year. 
Mr. Tuttle began to preach 
here in April, 1810. On 
Dec. 12, 1810, a Church of 
five members — one male 
and four females — was or- 
ganized in this parish, the 
servdce being conducted by 
Rev. Walter King, pastor 
of the Second Church in Norwich, with the co-operation of Mr. 
Tuttle, who, in the Record, is spoken of as a candidate for the 
ministry. The ordination of Mr. Tuttle took place in the 
Church at Groton, Aug. 13, 181 1 — the people from this part of 
the town attending in large numbers — a cavalcade of seventy 
young people, with their leader, Mr. James Geer, going down 
on horseback, to assist in the service of song. The sermon was 
preached by Rev. David Smith, of Durham. Mr. Tuttle con- 
tinued to serve the two parishes, according to the original agree- 
ment, till April 2, 1834; when, by the mutual consent of all 
concerned, his pastoral relation to the South Parish was dis- 
solved, and he became pastor in full of this parish, and gave all 
of his time to the work here — the salary to be paid him being 
$300. From the first, Mr. Tuttle proved himself a good minister 
of Jesus Christ. He was sound in doctrine, sincere and earnest 
in pressing the truths of the Gospel upon the heart and the con- 




Rev. Timothy Tuttle. 



36 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

science, faithful in pastoral duty, and, on the whole, eminently 
successful in his work — leaving salutary impressions upon the 
community which will remain for a long time tO' come. From 
a membership of five, to begin with, the membership of the 
Church steadily increased as the years passed by. This was es- 
pecially true when the Spirit was poured out, and revivals of 
religion were enjoyed, as was the case in the years 1814, 1831, 
1842, 1856 and 1858. After 48 years of ser^nce, Mr. Tuttle 
stated in an anniversary sermon, that the whole number that had 
become members of the Church since its formation in 1810, in- 
cluding the original five was 209. Several things should be men- 
tioned as occurring in his day, and, to a considerable extent, 
through his instrumentality; c. g., the establishment of the Sun- 
day-school, about 1818, the starting of the great Temperance 
Reformation, a few years later, and the erection of the present 
house of worship in 1843. ^^- Tuttle's work here, especially 
during the earlier portion of it, was very difBcult and attended 
with peculiar trials. There were individuals who were opposed 
to him, or rather opposed to the Evangelical Doctrines which he 
preached, and seemed to delight in throwing obstacles in his way. 
But every move they made only strengthened him in his position. 
His friends were drawn closer around him, and their numbers 
constantly increased, until in the closing years of his life he was 
eminently happy in the affections of the people generally. And 
not a few seemed ready to- do almost anything that would afford 
him pleasure or satisfaction. The good influences exerted by 
him as a preacher and pastor, were greatly enhanced by the 
efforts he put forth in behalf of the public schools, and especially 
by the instruction which he imparted in his own home to young 
men gathered there from his own and neighboring towns, train- 
ing many of them to become teachers, and fitting quite a number 
for college. He lived to preach on the fiftieth anniversary of 
his ordination, and to do considerable ministerial work for two 
or three years longer. He died June 6, 1864. The parents of 
Mr. Tuttle were Joseph Tuttle, of East Haven, and Mary 
Granger, of Suffield. He was born, Nov. 29, 1781. The family 
moved to Durham when he was about eighteen years old. He 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



37 



was graduated, with high rank as a scholar, from Yale College 
in the class of 1808. Under the instruction of his pastor, Mr. 
Smith, afterward Dr. Smith, he studied theology and fitted 
for the ministry. Mrs. Tuttle, in whom he had a faithful help- 
mate, was Miss Mary Norton, of Durham. The greater part of 
their married life was spent in the first house south of the Church, 
on the road leading to New London. Two daughters were born 
to them — Anna Maria, who became the wife of Rev. N. B. Cook, 
and Harriet Newell, who married Mr. Leonard Smith. 

Mrs. Tuttle died several years before her husband — Veh. 14, 
1856 — leaving him comparatively alone. But, in a few years a 
kind Providence opened the way for his oldest daughter and her 
husband to come and live with him. And by and by, as the in- 
firmities of age came upon the venerable pastor, his son-in-law. 

Rev. Nehemiah B. Cook, 



became associated with him in carrying forward the minis- 
terial work of the parish. Mr. Cook was born in Southhamp- 
ton, L. L, Sept. 20th, 
1793. In his youth he 
worked on the farm, and 
attended the public schools. 
Later he studied naviga- 
tion with the view of going 
to sea ; but was dissuaded 
from it by an older brother. 
He taught school for a 
while ; then learned and 
worked at the carpenter's 
trade for several years. 
He made a profession of 
religion in 1817; and soon 
after began to prepare for 
the ministry. He was 
graduated at Andover 
PvBv, N. B. Cook, Theological Seminary in 




38 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1821. Being licensed by Presbytery he served as a missionary 
in Pennsylvania, and as a pulpit supply for several years at 
various places on Long Island. He was called tO' the pastorate 
of the First Church in Stonington, and was installed March 17, 
1838. He preached at the Road Church one Sabbath, and in the 
village of Mystic the next Sabbath, and so on, from week to 
week, till the church in the village became strong enough to 
support a minister. He then preached at the Road Church in 
the morning, and in the village of Upper Mystic in the afternoon 
till the close ol his labors in Stonington ; his dismission taking 
place, March 7, 1859. Moving to Ledyard, Nov. 15, i860, he 
relieved his father-in-law by occupying the pulpit one-half of 
the time. Upon the death of the latter, he continued to minister 
to the Church till another, minister was called. It was in the 
later part of his ministry that the Town library was founded by 
the Hon. Henry Bill, of Norwich. Mr. Cook was the first presi- 
dent of the Bill Library Association ; and he continued tO' hold 
the ofifice till the time of his death which occurred, Nov. 17, 1879. 
Mrs. Cook lived on till March 21, 1890. Both of them were 
highly esteemed and beloved by the people of Ledyard. 

The next pastor was 

Rev. Charles Cutting, 

a son of Plorace and Harriet (Upham) Cutting. He was born 
in Sturbridge, Mass., March 24, 1840. He fitted for college at 
Dudley Academy. He was graduated at Amherst College in 
1863, and Hartford Theological Seminary in 1866. As a licen- 
tiate he preached in Hadlyme abont a year. He was ordained 
in Ledyard, June 25, 1868. Very early in his ministry the com- 
munity was visited by one of the most powerful revivals of re- 
ligion ever experienced here. It extended into every part of 
the parish, and reached all classes of people — the old, the middle- 
aged and the young, and not a few who had been but little 
accustomed to attend upon the public services of religion. As 
a result of this revival the membership of the Church was very 
largely increased. In 1868 the total membership, as reported 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



39 




upon the minutes, was only 65. In 1869 it was 171. As is 
usual in such cases some fell away after the exciting scenes amid 

which they were wrought 
upon had passed by. Still a 
goodly number persevered ; 
and some became very 
stable and consistent mem- 
bers. Among the instru- 
mentalities through which 
this revival was brought 
about the earnest labors of 
the young pastor were 
quite prominent. So the 
co-operation of neighbor- 
ing ministers — especially 
Messrs. Dana and Merri- 
man, of Norwich — was 
greatly blessed. Then, too, 
the members of the Church 
were unusually active. And 
the young converts also^ — 
as they were brought in one after another — took hold of the work 
with great enthusiasm. Yet very much doubtless depended 
upon the good seed that had been sown in faith and hope and 
prayer all along through previous years. Father Tuttle, during 
the closing portion of his life, often expressed the earnest desire 
that he might live to witness another revival. Though he was 
called away before the revival came, his prayers doubtless stood 
very closely connected with it. And what is here said of him 
may also be said of others who had long been members of the 
Church and deeply interested in its welfare. A few years after 
Mr. Cutting's labors began here the Hon. Henry Bill, of Nor- 
wich, donated to the parish the parsonage, which has since been 
occupied by the ministers. It was the home of Mr. Bill's child- 
hood, and had been sold out of the family several years previous. 
Mr. Bill bought it back again — thoroughly renovated the house 
—built a new barn and out-buildings, and gave the whole to the 



Rev. Charles Cutting. 



40 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Society, to be the dwelling-place of their ministers. For more 
than twenty years the Bill Library Association held its meetings 
in this house, and here, in a large hall, whose walls are hung 
with portraits of prominent citizens of the place, the annual 
library dinner was served. After leaving the place, in Sept., 
1881, Mr. Cutting served the Church in Montville till 1891. 




The Bill Parsonage. 



He then removed to Whitneyville, where he was settled in 1891, 
and dismissed in 1893. While living at Whitneyville, as a re- 
tired minister, he was attacked by Bright's disease and valvular 
disease of the heart, which terminated his life, Dec. 24, 1894, at 
the age of 54 years and 9 months. Mr. Cutting was married 
( )ct. 31, 1878, to Jessica Anna, daughter of Deacon William 
and Jessica (McKenzie) Campbell, of Philadelphia, Pa. Of their 
four children, two daughters and one son are living. The 
widow, with her children, are at the present time in New Haven, 
Conn. 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



41 



The next minister was 



Rev. John Avery, 

son of Robert Stanton and Sally (Crary) Avery, born at Preston, 
Aug. 19, 1819. Like other farmers' boys he spent the summers 

working on the farm 
— the winters in the 
district school. In 
1836 he began to 
study Latin with 
Rev. Mr. Tuttle, of 
Ledyard. He com- 
pleted his prepara- 
tion for college at 
the Norwich Town 
High School and 
Bacon Academy, 
Colchester. He was 
graduated from Yale 
College in 1843 ^^^ 
Yale Divinity 
School in 1847. He 
taught school quite 
a number of terms 
between the commencement and completion of his educational 
course. He was ordained pastor of the Exeter Church, Leba- 
non, June 21, 1848, and held the position' 25 years. Toward the 
close of this pastorate — in the year 1870 — he was a representa- 
tive from the town of Lebanon in the Connecticut Legislature. 
Soon after closing his work in Lebanon, in 1873, "^e became act- 
ing pastor of the Church in Central Village, and held the office 
between five and six years ; and then sustained the same relation 
to the Church in West Woodstock three years. He began his 
labors in Ledyard in Nov., i88r, and closed them April i, 1892. 
Early in his ministry here — in the autumn of 1882 — the town 
was thoroughly canvassed by an agent, of the Connecticut Bible 
Society. 'One result of this canvass was that it placed upon the 




Rev. John Avery. 



42 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

pastor's calling list no less than ii6 families — a number nearly 
twice as large as was commonly regarded as connected with the 
parish. Yet he called upon everyone of these families, and, as 
long as he lived in the place, continued tO' call upon them from 
time to time, and to hold religious meetings in school-houses and 
private dwellings that were easily accessible by all of them. In 
very many of them he was called to officiate at weddings and on 
funeral occasions. Among the important events that occurred 
during Mr. Avery's ministry were the painting of the parsonage 
and barn in 1883 — the introduction of new hymn books in 1885 — 
the painting of the Church outside and in — the frescoing of the 
interior and providing it with new carpets and cushions — the 
work begun in 1886 and completed in 1887 — the purchase of a 
new organ in 1888, at an expense of $182, $50 being paid by 
a single individual. Miss Hannah Norman — the commencement, 
early in 1892, of the beautiful and commodious structure, in 
which the Bill Library has found a permanent home every way 
suited to its need. 

It should be added that the Church was struck by lightning 
on Sunday morning, Oct. 19, 1892 — ^the building injured to the 
amount of $125 (which was covered by insurance), the minis- 
ter's horse killed outright, and his daughter, Miss Mary A. 
Avery, so seriously injured that several months had elapsed be- 
fore she had fully recovered. Since removing from the place 
and taking up his residence in Norwich Mr. Avery has frequently 
been called back to attend weddings and funerals, and to assist 
on anniversary occasions. On the fiftieth anniversary of his 
ordination he preached in the Church where he was ordained ; 
and he still continues to respond to calls for his ministerial serv- 
ices whenever they are presented. 

Mr. Avery was married Nov. 6, 1851, to Miss Susan Cham- 
pion, of Old Lyme. They have had three daughters, only one 
of whom survives. 

The present pastor, 

Rev. Albert Enw.\RD Kinmouth, 

of Scotch-English parentage, was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1846, 



*1 



THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



43 




He was educated at Queen's University, and Weslyan Theologi- 
cal Seminary, Belfast — admitted to the British Weslyan Confer- 
ence in 1870, and for more 
than twO' years was As- 
sistant Secretary of the 
British Home and Foreign 
Missionary Societies. He 
came from London to this 
country in 1873, with tlio 
view of going as a mission- 
ary to Japan ; but, deciding 
to remain here, he was or- 
dained at Carthage, N. Y., 
in 1874. He has had pas- 
torates at Seneca Falls, 
Oswegoi Falls, Pulaski and 
West N^field, N. Y.— 
also Greenwich and Mont- 
ville, Conn. He began his 
work in Ledyard in 1893; 
and during his ministry a 
Y. P. S. C. E. has been organized and well sustained ; a goodly 
number of young people — sixteen at one time — have united with 
the Church ; and $7,100.00 have been added to the permanent 
funds of the Society. The platform in the Church was lowered 
in 1890, and the interior of the Church re-frescoed in 1898. Mr. 
Kinmouth is living with his second wife, who was Miss Bellows, 
from Seneca Falls. By the first wife he had four children, and 
by the second, four. Two daughters have married in Ledyard, 
and the eldest of these has died. 

Deacons of the Church : Warren Williams, Russel Gallup, 
Erastus Gallup, Jonathan B. Beckwith, Nathan S. Gallup, Isaac 
G. Geer, Russel Gallu]i. 

The Sunday-school. 

Though the Sunday-school is a comparatively recent institu- 
tion the ends which it aims to secure were previously sought in 



Rev. a. B. Kinmouth. 



44 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

different ways. This matter is well-stated by Mr. William T. 
Cook, in a sketch of the life of his grand-father, Rev. Timothy 
Tnttle. He uses the following language: "Before the formation 
of the Sabbath-school, the young people met their pastor once 
in two weeks to recite the Assembly's Catechism. A Sabbath- 
school was organized about 1818. The manner in which it was 
conducted was entirely different from modern Sabbath-schools. 
The children were required to learn verses from the Bible, and 
hymns ; the pastor heard the recitations, and a young man, Mr. 
Norman L. Chester, who was studying with him, kept an account 
of the number learned. At the close of the school in autumn 
scholars were paid in books, at the rate of the value of a penny 
for ten verses from the Bible, and the same for twenty verses of 
hymns. Three little girls, Sally Sterry, Anna Billings and 
Tabitha Lamb, recited each one thousand verses from the Bible, 
and each received a Bible as a reward. 

After several* years a proposition was made to establish a 
Sabbath-school library ; some of the young ladies started a sub- 
scription paper and obtained the sum of seven dollars, with which 
to commence a library. 

At the close of the Sabbath-school for the winter, a Bible 
class for young people took its place, the pastor prepared ques- 
tions, and copies of them were distributed among the members 
of the class, who were expected to prepare answers in writing, 
and read them at the class meeting. From these small begin- 
nings the Sabbath-school has increased till it has embraced 
nearly all the members of the congregation, and has obtained the 
name of 'The Banner Sabbath-school of the State.' " 

The following gentlemen have held the office of superin- 
tendent : Deacon Warren Williams, Henry W. Avery, Moses 
Norman, Jacob A. Geer, Col. Samuel W. Wood, Col. Elias W. 
Brown, Israel Allyn, Dea. Jonathan B. Beckwith, Dea. Nathan 
Sands Gallup, George Fanning, John M. Gray. 

iNVESTEn Funds. 

The funds of the Church and Society — the income of which 
may be used for defraying the annual expenses — amount to 



THE COXGREGATIOXAL CHURCH. 45 

about $12,000. The origin of them dates back to 1808. In that 
year a lottery, authorized by the State, netted $2,000. In 1825, 
WilHam H. Woodbridge bequeathed $500, on condition that the 
Church and Society would raise as much more. This condition 
being complied with $i,oco was realized. In 1836, the United 
States revenue was in excess of the expenditures, and the .amount 
of the excess was, by act of Congress, divided among the States. 
This State received over three-fourths of a million of dollars. 
This last named sum was distributed among the towns on condi- 
tion that one-half at least of the annual income be expended upon, 
the common schools. This town, it seems, devoted $300 of its 
share to this Ecclesiastical Society. About i860, it was found 
that the income of the Society had, for several years, more than 
paid expenses ; and the surplus, amounting to $500, was added 
to the permanent investments.. Since then the following be- 
quests have been received: In 1875, from Sidney A. Roach, 
$1,000. In 1872, from Mrs. Ichabod Chapman, $100. In 1896, 
from Miss Eliza B. Geer, $100. In 1897, from Israel Allyn, 
$1,000. In 1898, from Charles Bill, $1,000. In the same year, 
1898, a gift of $5,000, the largest that was ever made to the in- 
vested funds, was received from Miss Sarah Norman. 



CHAPTER III. 
The Episcopal Church. 

An Episcopal organization, bearing the name of St. James' 
Church, was started here in the latter part of the year 1734. Rev. 



IVjjf 




- -^ 


mJ 




' \ 


^^1 


^P^^^^^^^^^l 


^^ 


M^ 




■mi 



St. James' Episcopal Church. 

Ebenezer Punderson, who had been, for four or five years, pastor 
of the Congregational Church, was the prime mover in the enter- 
prise. The house of worship stood on Church Hill, about a mile 
and a half north-east of the Church at the Center, and some three 
miles south-east of the village of Poquetanuck. The parsonage 
connected with it stood on the lane that leads westward from the 
present Bill parsonage, and was pulled down by Rev. Chas. 
Cutting. '7/ zvas the first Church parsonage in America." The 



THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 47 

lot in which the Church stood was used as a cemetery, in accord- 
ance with an old-time English custom. The records of this 
Church, up to the time of the Revolutionary War, were lost. 
Hence its early history is quite obscure. Extracts from the re- 
ports which Mr. Punderson made to the Missionary Society in 
England, which paid a part of his salary, are still extant ; and 
some of them seem to indicate that the Church was cjuite pros- 
perous. In one of these reports, dated June 18, 1739, he says 
that "there has been a great increase in the number of my 
parishioners, and a corresponding change in the temper of dis- 
senting brethren ; many of whom, from being haters and revilers 
of the Church and her clergy have been brought to occasionally 
attend her services. On last Christmas, and on a Lord's Day 
afterwards, more than four hundred persons of sober and devout 
behavior, were present in the Church, many of whom had been 
bitter enemies." Mr. Punderson drew a portion of his former 
tlock with him into Episcopacy. Some "ten or twelve Congre- 
gational people — heads of families — signed his papers, and con- 
tributed money to bear his expenses when he went to England 
to be ordained." Probably all of these, and very likely others 
with them, were his friends and supporters after his return. 
Though the Episcopal movement began to take tO' itself definite 
shape and form as early as 1734, it is probable that the Church 
edifice was not erected cpiite as early as that. Very likely, how- 
ever, it was within two or three years, though the precise date 
has not come down to us. This edifice stood where it was first 
located till 1785, when it was taken down, moved to Poque- 
tanuck, and re-erected on Single Point, just south of the village. 
Since that date it has been succeeded by twoi Church edifices, 
erected one after the other, a little east of the village — the last 
in the year 1898. As to the number of persons connected with 
this Church, in the earlier portion of its history, Mr. Punderson 
at one time reported that there were 104 male members over 
sixteen years of age. Among them were "five each of the names 
of Williams and Rode (Rood?) ; three each of the name of Ames, 
Geer, Hide, Minor, Park, Rose, Pelton, Spicer, Starkweather, 
Stoddard and Waterman ; two each of the names of Capron, 



48 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Crouch, Forsee (Forsyth), Hillam, Lee, Turner, Wilkinson and 
Willoughby. The single names were Allyn, Ashcraft, Barker, 
iiassett, Barnard, Bennett, Bordish, Button, Cleveland, Cramer, 
Davis, Dean, Dickinson, Dood, Downing, Doyle, Fanning, 
Fountain, Frink, Gray, Grist, Hancock, Holdridge, Holly, 
Houghton, Hutchinson, Larkin, Lancasta, Leeds, Malason, Mc- 
Clo'Ughton, Meach, Norton, Nuton (Newton), Parish, Randal, 
Ranger, Raynolds, Rouse, Samson, Thiton, Utley, Welsh, Wick- 
wire and Weeks." 

[See Rev. X. A. Welton's article in Episcopal Herald for 
July, 1891]. 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Separatist Church. 

One result of "The Great Awakening," which began in the 
early forties of the last century, was the formation of S'eparate 
Churches in various parts of the country, but especially here in 
Eastern Connecticut. There was hardly a town, either in New 
London or Windham Counties which did not have one or more 
of these churches within its borders. The state of things, in the 
older churches, had come to- be such that a change for the better 
was demanded ; and some of the clearer headed and more spirit- 
ually-minded members were beginning to see it. These churches 
though they had previously been in a much better condition, 
were now rapidly drifting into formalism. The Half- Way Cove- 
nant plan, which permitted parents, of fair moral character, who 
were not church-members, to have their children baptized, and, 
in some churches, to partake of the communion, had been wide- 
ly adopted. The feeling seemed to be everywhere gaining 
ground, that the outward observance of the rites and forms of 
religion was all that was required, and that the spiritual renova- 
tion of the heart was altogether unnecessary. It was this gen- 
eral drift of things, away from the high standards set up and 
maintained by the first settlers in the country and their more 
immediate successors, that roused the spirits of Edwards, White- 
field and their co-adjutors, and called forth from them such 
earnest protests and such thrilling appeals that "Tlie Great 
Awakening" was the result. The hearts of these conspicuous 
leaders in the work were fired with the loftiest enthusiasm ; and 
their preaching was of such a character that immense numbers 
of people, in every walk in life, were intensely moved by it. Very 
soon movements were set on foot which resulted in serious divi- 

4 



50 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

sions in many of the churches, and at length in the formationi of 
Separate Churches in the same communities with the Churches 
of the Standing Order. The followers of the Reformers, in their 
aspirations after greater spirituality and a higher styie of Chris- 
tian living, were often over-zealous and fanatical in their pro- 
ceedings, while those who did not adopt their views were often 
excessively conservative in their action. Hence, in nearly all 
the churches, there were opposing parties which were frequently 
in violent conflict with each other. And whenever a separation 
took place the Conservatives succeeded in retaining possession 
of the Church already established, and the Reformers were 
obliged to establish a new church. And then there were long 
and bitter controversies between the two. The Conservatives had 
everything in their favor, so far as law and authority and prec- 
edent were concerned ; the Reformers were obliged to work at 
tremendous disadvantage. The storm-center of this violent 
commotion, here in Eastern Connecticut, was in the town of 
Canterbury. Here a young man, John Cleveland by name, a 
student in Yale College, was expelled from that institution for 
attending a Separate meeting with his parents during his vaca- 
tion. A prominent citizen, Mr. Elisha Paine, a lawyer by pro- 
fession, for espousing the cause of the Separates, and laboring to 
promote it, was imprisoned for months in the Windham County 
jail. Very many persons, for declining tO' pay the "minister's 
tax," which was levied upon them for the support of the minis- 
ter of the old established Church, had various articles of property 
taken from them by due process of law — sold at public auction, 
and the whole amount of money received — ^whether more or 
less — retained by the officials — not a penny returned to the right- 
ful owners. Says Miss Larned, in her "Historic Gleanings in 
Windham County, Conn. :" "Separates were excluded from 
town oflfices ; men of substance and character, like Obadiah 
Johnson, of Canterbury, when elected representative to the As- 
sembly by a majority of his felloiW-citizens, was not allowed to 
take his seat because of holding the office of deacon in the re- 
bellious church. Ordained Separate ministers were shut up in 
jail for joining in marriage their own church members. Bap- 



THE SEPARATIST CITURCII. 51 

tisms and marriages performed by them were pronounced illegal. 
And worse than all in its efifects, touching all classes, were the 
rates extorted for the support of the established churches. In 
the eyes of the law each Separate was still a member of the 
parish in which he resided, and obliged to pay for the support 
of its stated religious worship. Refusing to pay, his goods were 
forcibly taken by the collector, and, however much exceeding 
the amount due, no overplus was ever returned. If goods were 
insufficient the men were carried to prison. These were the days 
of Connecticut's "religious persecution,' not bloody, indeed, but 
most harrassing and persistent. All over the colony were heard 
the cries of these afilicted Separates — men dragged to jail by 
force, wives and children left helpless at home. Instances of 
special hardship are noted, the poor man's only cow driven away 
from his door, the meat or grain laid up for winter sustenance 
carried off by the merciless collector. Windham jail was so 
crowded with victims as to require an additional story. In Nor- 
wich, where there was a strong New Light element, the contest 
was very bitter. The venerable mother of the church historian, 
Rev. Isaac Backus, was taken from her home and confined thir- 
teen days in jail for refusing to pay her church rate" (pp. 42, 43). 
It was long before the liberty for which these Separate people 
contended was secured. Concessions were made to the Baptists, 
the Episcopalians, and the Quakers, long before they were to 
them. In due time, however, the ends which they sought were 
obtained. "The voluntary principle" in the support of religion 
was universally accepted. And the churches ol every name and 
denomination were left perfectly free to govern themselves in 
whatever ways they chose — to make whatever spiritual attain- 
ments seemed to them desirable ; all this without any interference 
from the State or from any rival religious denomination. It is an 
historic fact, therefore, not to be overlooked, that this town once 
had a Separate Church within its bounds, and that that church 
was in hearty sympathy and cordial co-operation with a large 
number of sister churches, scattered all over the country, each 
one of them contending earnestly for those broad principles of 
religious liberty which, more than anything else, help to make 



52 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

our land the glory of all lands. At what time the Separate 
Church here was formed we do not definitely know. Mr. Tuttle, 
in his forty-eighth anniversary sermon, says it was probably 
"some time between 1742 and 1748." On Nov. 14, 1751, Na- 
thaniel Brown, Jr., was ordained as its pastor, and held the office 
about four years. He was probably a native oi the place. His 
successor was Park Allyn, who was born here, June 15, 1733, and 
died Feb. 13, 1804. He lived in the house now occupied by Mr. 
Amos G. Avery. Nothing has come down to us indicating that 
he had a long continued ministry or any permanent successor, 
though services, conducted by different persons, continued to be 
held. The church edifice stood a little to the west of the house 
of Mr. A. G. Avery; and the step-stone is there tO' this day. 
The building was removed to Gale's Ferry in 1803; and, for 
more than fifty years, standing where the Methodist Church now 
stands, was occupied by the Methodist people as their place of 
worship. Nearly the whole of the ministry of Rev. Ralph Hurl- 
butt was accomplished in that church. It gave place to the 
present Methodist Church in 1857. 



CHAPTER V. 



The Methodist Episcopal Church 

At Gale's Ferry. 

Methodism seems to have gained little, if any, foothold in 

New England, until after the close of the Revolutionary War 

in 1783. 

The descendants of the Pilgrims were Orthodox Congrega- 

tionalists, and for 
many years, no man 
could vote or hold of- 
fice unless he was a 
member of a Church 
of "The Standing Or- 
der." 

The land was di- 
vided into "Parishes," 
and the clergy were 
maintained by public 
tax. Jesse Lee, born 
in Virginia, in 1758, 
entered the itinerant 
ministry of the Meth- 
odist denomination in 
1783, and was ap- 
pointed tO' preach in 

New England at the New York Conference of 1789. 

He preached the first Methodist sermon, in New London, 

in the court house (now standing), at early candle light, on Sept. 

2, 1789, and the first Methodist sermon in Norwich, at the house 

of Mrs. Thankful Pierce, on Jime 25, 1790. 

On August II, 1793 a conference was held, at Tolland, at 




Methodist Episcopal Church, Gale's Ferry. 



54 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

which George Roberts was placed as Elder in charge of a circuit 
that covered nearly the same territory that is now known as the 
Norwich District of the New England Southern Conference. 
Elder Roberts, who is said to have exhibited "extraordinary 
pulpit power," appears to have preached a sermon, in the open 
air, to a large congregation, at Gale's Ferry, in July, 1793. This 
was followed by occasional preaching by different men, and it is 
presumed that R. Swain and Fredus Aldrige, who were junior 
preachers, at that time, might have been among the number. 

In 1803, Gale's Ferry was taken into the New London circuit, 
and in May of that year, a class was formed, consisting of eight 
persons, namely — Ralph Hurlbutt, Jonathan Stoddard and wife, 
Nathan Avery and wife, Hannah Hurlbutt, Lucy Hurlbutt and 
Lydia Stanton. Ralph Hurlbutt was appointed class-leader and 
eleven more names were added to the class during the year. 

About this time, the Separatist Congregational Church, which 
stood on the road leading from Gale's Ferry to Ledyard Center, 
near the present residence, in 1900, of Amos G. Avery, was taken 
down, removed and rebuilt, on a little elevation of land, near the 
residence of Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt ; where it remained and was 
occupied as a place of worship, until 1857. 

Among the early preachers at Gale's Ferry in the former 
part of the nineteenth century, we find the names of Amos T. 
Thompson, Jesse Stoneman, Daniel Ostrander, Timothy Dewey 
and LorenzO' Dow. 

In 1806, Ralph Hurlbutt, son of Rufus Hurlbutt, who was 
killed at Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781, was licensed to exhort, 
and he obtained a local preacher's license in 1810. Ralph Hurl- 
butt seemed to have been a more than ordinary man, in his day 
and generation, for in addition to his being a Methodist preacher 
with a power to sway the minds of his audiences, we hear of 
him in the capacity of school-master, farmer, justice of the peace, 
money-lender, administrator of the estates of deceased persons, 
and he was quite extensively known, and also feared, more or 
less by the degenerate, and was generally spoken of by all classes, 
in the vernacular of those times, as, "The Square," or "Square 
Hurlbutt." 



THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



55 




Being industrious, frugal, temperate and intelligent he 
naturally became more thrifty than those of opposite traits, and 

when once in a general 
conversation, in a store in 
the vicinity, where both 
wet and dry groceries were 
vended, the question as to 
the probability of "land in 
the moon," was being dis- 
cussed, one man wittily re- 
marked that he could settle 
that question by asking 
Square Hurlbutt, for if 
there were land in the 
moon, the Square had a 
mortgage on it. 

Ralph Hurlbutt's wife 
was Polly Jones, daughter 
of John Jones, an immi- 
grant from Wales, who 
married Sarah Boles, and 
her memory is revered, as that of a most excellent woman. She 
had a sister, Judith, who married Elijah Newton, and became the 
mother of John J. Newton, who married Charity Norman, one 
of the Norman family, who in recent years have contributed 
$3,000 as a permanent fund, the interest of which is applied to 
the support of preaching in the Gale's Ferry Church. 

Ralph Hurlbutt and wife, for many years seem to have kept 
a "Methodist minister's tavern," or, in other words, to have 
sheltered, lodged and fed, the circuit preachers, who happened 
around from 1810 to 1840, and during that time, on alternate 
Sundays or more often, Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt preached the Gos- 
pel without charge for his services. 

From 1840 to 1846, other ministers assisted Mr. Hurlbutt, 
and since 1846 the Church has been supplied with pre-xhing by 
Conference appointments. 

Other donations and bequests, besides those of the Norman 



Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt. 



56 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

family, previously mentioned, the first $100 of which was by 
Phillis Daniels, a colored woman, whose mother was a slave, by 
different individuals, at sundry times, have helped tO' establish 
the permanent fund for the support of preaching, the total 
amount of which, at present writing, is about $4,000. 

In 1857, during the pastorate of Rev. Jesse E. Heald, Chris- 
topher Allyn, John E. Perkins and Ralph Scott Stoddard were 
constituted a building committee, and the present Church edifice 
was constructed by Courtland Chapman and Nelson Gallup, at 
a cost of $3,221. The subscription being inadequate to meet the 
expense of building, the committee assumed the debt of $969.75, 
which amount was cancelled, by voluntary subscriptions, a few 
years later, mainly by the persistent efforts of Rev. Warren 
Emerson. 

The new Church edifice was dedicated in October, 1857. It 
has a seating capacity for 250 people, is nicely frescoed, carpeted 
and cushioned, and with necessary repairs, as occasion demands, 
ought to be a comfortable place of woirship for many future 
years. 

Tiie parsonage, which stands a short distance to the west of 
the Church, is a fairly comfortable dwelling place for the 
preacher in charge. The main part was built a little previous to 
1850, and two ells have since been added, the last at an expense 
of some $400, during the pastorate of Rev. W. A. Taylor. 

Both Church and parsonage are unencumbered by debt and 
are kept insured. 

The following is a list of the Conference appointees since 1846. 
as nearly as can be readily ascertained : 

Daniel Dorchester, 1846*. L. D. Bentley. 1858-59 

Dickson, 1848. David Bradbury, 1860-62 

Jesse Denison, 1850. Warren Emerson, 1863-65 

Dunham, 1851. G. D. Boynton, 1866-67 

E. F. Hinks, 1852. D.G.Ashley, 1868-70 

O. Huse, 1853. J- M. Worcester, 1871-73 

J. W. Case, 1854-55. F. C. Newell, 1874-75 

J. E. Heald, 1856-57. Wm, Turking-ton, 1876-78 



THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 57 



Nelson Goodrich, 


1879-81. 


Thos. Denman, 


1892-94. 


Wm. Tiirkington, 


1882-84. 


John Q. Adams, 


1895-96. 


C. H. Dalrymple, 


1885-86. 


J.B. Ackley, 


1897. 


Wm. A. Taylor, 


1887-91. 







The present membership of the Church in January, 1900, is 
as follows: Members in full connection, 51; Probationers, 22. 

The Church ofBcials at the same date are : 

Trustees: C. A. Satterlee, D. C. Perkins, Thomas Latham, 
C. A. Brown, N. B. Allyn, Elmer Tubbs, C. E. Colver, C. H. 
Chapman, Henry Hurlbutt. 

Stewards: C. A. Brown, C. H. Chapman, E. E. Tubbs, D. 
C. Perkins, C. E. Colver, Mrs. Lucy Palmer, Mrs. Sarah Perkins, 
Mrs. Sarah Latham, Mrs. Frances Rogers, Mrs. Lydia Maynard, 
Mrs. Susan Satterlee, Mrs. Hannah L Chapman and Mrs. Kate 
B. Colver. 

Sunday-school : Superintendent, Courtland Colver ; As- 
sistant Superintendent, D. C. Perkins ; Secretary and Treasurer, 
Miss Alice Satterlee; Librarian, Elmer Satterlee; Organist, Mrs. 
H. Chapman. 

Teachers: Rev. J. B. Ackley, Kate B. Colver, Mrs. S. E. 
Latham, Hattie Brown, Laura A. Perkins, Bertha Maynard, C. 
H. Chapman, Fanny R. Hurlbutt, Mrs. Hannah L Chapman. 

The Church has had its season of spiritual refreshing when 
several have been added to its membership. The most promi- 
nent revivals occurred in 1814, 181 5, 1816, 1818, 1820, 1833, 1841, 
1868, 1875, 1884, and 1899. 

[T. L.] 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Baptist Church. 



In Oct., 1842, a movement was set on foot to organize a 
Baptist Church in the town of Ledyard. The first decisive step 

taken was a petition to the 
First Baptist Church in 
Groton, signed by twenty 
persons — ten males and 
ten females — all of them 
members of said Church, 
praying that they might be 
permitted to organize as a 
branch of the Church of 
which they were already 
members. Steps were taken 
also with reference to the 
ordination of Mr. Stephen 
H. Peckham as pastor of 
the proposed branch 
Church. On March 2, 
1843, a council, composed 
of ministers and delegates 
from neighboring Baptist Churches, met at the house of Mr. 
Aaron Brown, and, after due deliberation, decided to organize 
the Church, and ordain Mr. Peckham. Public services were 
held ; a sermon preached by B. Cook ; other parts by E. Denison, 
B. F. Hayden and A. Avery. 

The names of the persons who- signed the petition for the 
formation of a new Church were as follows: Stephen H. Peck- 
ham, Albert Brown, Aaron Brown, Elias Brown, Daniel Brown, 




Elder Peckham. 



THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 59 

Avery W. Brown, Thomas Prosser, Randall Holdredge, Daniel 
Main, Robert Willcox, Esther Peckham, Lois Main, Mary 
Brown, Annis Brown, Anna Prosser, Harriet Stanton, Lura Ann 
Barnes, Caroline Woodmancy, Mercy Brown, Emeline F. Hold- 
redge. 

Within a few months after the formation ol the Church, there 
were additions which carried the membership up to about forty. 

A house of worship was felt to^ be a necessity, and arrange- 
ments were made for buildmg. The result was consummated 
before the close of the year. The church edifice, located abo'Ut 
a mile and a half north-east of the Congregational Church at the 
Centre, was dedicated Nov. 21, 1843. The cost of the edifice 
was about $1,000. In raising this amount considerable aid was 
received from outside. 

Elder Peckham received nO' regular salary. The people met 
at his house about once a year, and made him presents, whoise 
annual value varied from $20. tO' $40. in money, with other arti- 
cles useful in his family. 

There were frequent, though never very large, accessions to 
the Church. The largest number belonging tO' it at any one 
time was ninety-seven. 

Discipline was maintained in the Church, as the records 
abundantly show. Members were called tO' account for their 
delinquencies, and, failing to^ give satisfaction, were cut ofT ; and, 
whenever proper amends were made, they were restored. 

Elder Peckham held the oiifice of pastor up to the time of his 
death, which occurred, Dec. 18, 1863. There were only a few 
Sabbaths, near the close of his life, on which he was imable to 
officiate. 

Rev. Stephen Hazard Peckham was born in Ledyard in 1805, 
the youngest of fifteen children. His parents were Benjamin 
and Lucy (Wilcox) Peckham. He was thrice married. First, 
to Phebe Esther Barber, Nov. 20, 1825. By her he nad three 
sons and four daughters. She died April 4, 1843. O" Nov. 
30, 1843, he was married to Phebe F. Gates, who bore him one 
son and two daughters, and died Nov. 15, 1849. His third mar- 
riage was to Almira Holdredge, Sept. 2, 1850, by whom he had 



60 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

three daughters. While pastor of the Church, Elder Peckham 
lived in the house at the foot of Rose Hill, which has since been 
owned by Mr. John Main ; and later, in the house which his son, 
Stephen H. Peckham, Jr., took down a few years since and re- 
placed by a new one. Since the death of this faithful and beloved 
pastor, the Church has had no regular minister for any great 
length of time. Sometimes the meeting-house has been closed 
for several months in succession. Then, again, services have 
been held with considerable regularity, conducted by ministers 
or lay-preachers from neighboring places. The names of some 
of them are M. G. Smith, P. Kinney, Elder Tilness, A. E. Goff, 
Vine A. Starr, Lorenzo Williams Tillinghast. At present, Mr. 
Frank S. Robbins, of Preston, holds a service on the third 
Sabbath of each month. The names of the men who have held 
the office of deacon in the Church are John Myers, Thomas 
Prosser, Nelson Chapman, Stephen H. Peckham, Jr., John Ben- 
nett. In 1892-3, the church was shingled and otherwise repaired 
at an expense of over $70.00. 



CHAPTER VII. 
The Rogerene Quakers 

Made their appearance in New London in the year 1674. 
Their leader, John Rogers, belonged to a prosperous and in- 
fluential family that had, for quite a number of years, been con- 
nected with the First Church of Christ in that place. After 
breaking ofT from the Church of the Standing Order and adopting 
peculiar views and peculiar practices, they still continued tO' be 
orthodox in respect to many of the essential doctrines of the 
Gospel. As Dr. Blake, in his "History of the First Church of 
Christ in New London," says of them : "They held to salvation 
by faith in Jesus Christ, to the Trinity, to the necessity of the 
new birth, to the resurrection of the just and the unjust, and to 
an eternal judgment." Some of the respect in which they dif- 
fered in belief from the Christian people, among whom they 
dwelt, were these : They held and stoutly maintained that all 
days were alike ; that the Sabbath was no more sacred than other 
time ; that the established ministry of the Gospel, with its paid 
officials, was an abomination ; that a place for public worship, 
where people might assemble statedly to be instructed in spiritual 
things and to engage in prayer and praise, was an unnecessary 
and indeed a very improper thing. As Dr. Blake has expressed it : 
"They regarded a church-tower, a pulpit, a cushioned pew, a 
church, a salaried minister, in a black suit of clothes, with peculiar 
aversion. * * * They did not believe in the use of medicines 
for the recovery of health ; nor in any civil or religious rite in 
marriage." If they had simply adopted and adhered to these 
peculiar beliefs, without any offensive demonstrations of them in 
opposition to the beliefs and practices of other people, there 
might have been no serious collisions between themselves and 



62 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF* LEdYARD. 

those from whom they differed. But they were not content to 
do this. On the contrary, they felt themselves called upon to 
interfere with, and, so far as lay in their power, to obstruct and 
hinder the religious observances of those whose views and 
practices were at variance with their own. For this purpose they 
would hang around the doors of churches Sabbath mornings, 
and do things calculated to annoy the people, and especially the 
ministers, who' entered. They would make boisterous and offen- 
sive noises under the open windows and in the porches of the 
churches, while the people were engaged in worship. Their 
women would walk into the churches with their spinning wheels, 
take their places in the aisles, and proceed with their work in the 
presence of the congregations, and in the very midst of the serv- 
ices. And some would even go^ sO' far as to- rise up in the con- 
gregation, while the minister was preaching, and contradict what 
he was saying. Dr. McEwen, giving a historic sketch of these 
proceedings, uses the following language : "They regarded wor- 
ship performed on the first day of the week as a species of 
idolatry, which they ought to oppose. They held it to be their 
special mission tO' destroy priestcraft. In carrying out their 
peculiar notions, they used a variety of measures to disturb those 
who were assembled for public worship on the Lord's day. 
They traveled about in small companies, and entered churches 
and other places of worship in a rude and boisterous manner, 
and sometimes engaged in different kinds of manual labor in 
order to break up and interrupt the religious services." Says 
Dr. Blake : "They would often rise up in worshipping assem- 
blies and interrupt the preacher and call him a hireling, accuse 
him of making merchandise of the flock, telling the people that 
they were sunk in the mire of idolatry, and entangled in the net 
of anti-Christ, and calling the preacher a liar, if he said anything 
which they did not believe. They even went so far as to rush 
into church and interrupt the preacher tO' declare their violations 
of the laws respecting the keeping of holy time. Bathsheba Fox, 
a sister of John Rogers, went openly tO' church to proclaim that 
she had been doing servile work on the Christian Sabbath. John 
Rogers went with her, and interrupted the preacher to proclaim 



THE ROGERENE QUAKERS. 63 

a similar offence. On one occasion he trundled a wheel-barrow 
into the porch of the church during divine service." (Pages 
83-4). John Rogers took it upon himself to show his defiance 
of all laws and statutes in regard to marriage in this way. After 
his first wife, Elisabeth Griswold, had been divorced from him 
and he had lived without a wife for twenty-five years, he assumed 
to marry himself to his maid-servant by going into the county 
court and there, in the presence of the court and a great crowd 
of spectators, declaring that he and the woman he had with 
him were husband and wife ; and presently going to the house of 
the Governor, and repeating the same performance there. Some 
time after this, as Mr. Rogers and his so-called bride were walk- 
ing upon the street they fell in with Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall. 
the pastor of the Church to which Mr. Rogers had formerly be- 
longed. Mr. Saltonstall questioned them as to the report in cir- 
culation of their being married, and said : "Why, John, do you 
mean to say that you take this woman to be your wife?" "I do," 
said Mr. Rogers. And turning to^ the woman, Mr. Saltonstall 
addressed a similar question to her: "Do you mean to say that 
you take this man, who is so much older than yourself, to be 
your husband?" "I do," said she. "Well, then," said Mr. Sal- 
tonstall, "I pronounce you husband and wife^ — united in mar- 
riage according to the laws of this colony." The Quaker, seeing 
that the minister had stolen the march upon him, and that he 
was now legally married, in spite of his determination not to be, 
could only reply : "Ah, Gurdon, thou art a cunning creature." 

As many of the things done by these people were not only 
out of harmony with all the decencies and proprieties of civilized 
society, but were also open and defiant violations of statute law, 
the penalties of the law were visited upon them. The penalties 
inflicted were at first comparatively light ; but were increased as 
the contest continued ; and, in some cases, amounted in the ag- 
gregate to large sums of money, and long and weary months 
spent in prison. It is said that John Rogers, after he began to 
proclaim his peculiar views and to act openly in accordance with 
them, spent nearly one-third of his life in prison. Writing upon 
the subject in 1706 he used the following language: "I have 



64 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

been sentenced to pay hundreds of pounds, laid in iron chains, 
cruelly scourged, endured long imprisonments, set in the stocks 
many hours together, &c." According to the testimony of his 
son his sufferings continued through the long period of forty-five 
years. 

As we look back over this history we wonder, perhaps, that 
such events as it records could ever have happened in this "land 
of steady habits ;" wonder that these people could become so 
perfectly infatuated, and that the magistrates, administering the 
civil government, could proceed to^ such extremes in its treatment 
oi them. And we may well rejoice that the times have sO' greatly 
changed, and this so decidedly for the better. The parties that 
were in such violent conflict with each other, here upon New 
London County soil, over two hundred years ago, still survive 
in the persons of their successors. But the contest between them 
has long since passed away. Peace now reigns where strife and 
contention and violence once prevailed. Quite a community, 
made up of the successors of those old-time Rogerenes, or 
Quakers, as they are more commonly called in our day, still 
live, and foir a good many years have lived in the south-east por • 
tion of the town of Ledyard. They are a peaceable and pros- 
perous people, and maintain friendly relations with the people 
who live among them and around them. They are still quite 
inclined to live isolated from others in many things. They have 
their own views of religion ; their own meeting-house ; their own 
modes of worship ; their own Sabbath-school ; and their own ways 
of doing things generally. They are in the main industrious, 
peaceable and honest, and inclined to let other people have their 
own ways, provided that other people will let them have theirs. 
Formerly, they refused to have anything to^ do with politics ; 
refused to go to the polls to vote ; refused tO' pay taxes ; refused 
to bear arms. Some of these peculiarities have in recent years 
been partially laid aside. In the Civil War some of their young 
men enlisted as soldiers, and several laid down their lives in their 
country's service. The children are now educated in the public 
schools, and several of the young people have become successful 
teachers. Two or three of their young ladies have done well in 



THE ROGERENE QUAKERS. 65 

the line of authorship. One is a gifted and widely-known 
poetess. Quite a number of their young men, and young women, 
too, have married into other than Quaker families. The result 
of this has been that considerable numbers have, in a measure, 
at least, broken away from the Quaker faith. 

The old-time prejudice against churches and ministers, 
though still retained by some, is slowly wearing ofif with the ris- 
ing generation. AMienever a marriage ceremony is to be cele- 
brated, generally a clergyman is called in to officiate. At 
funerals also a minister of the Gospel is generally requested to 
take charge of the service. With few exceptions they are strong- 
ly opposed to war ; and have for many years been putting forth 
strenuous efforts to promote universal peace among men. They 
hold an annual Peace Aleeting, so-called, on the banks of the 
Mystic river, just south of the village of Old Mystic. The meet- 
ing occurs in the month of August — is continued for three suc- 
cessive days — and brings together from the whole surrounding 
region large numbers of people. The services are held in a plain, 
yet spacious and well-arranged structure bearing the name of 
Temple of Peace. It is located on a hill-top in a beautiful grove. 
Distinguished speakers from abroad are usually present to par- 
ticipate in the exercises. 



In the religious movements outlined in the foregoing sketches, 
we have perhaps a pretty fair sample of what has been going on 
during the last two hundred and fifty years all over New England, 
and to a considerable extent also in other parts of the country — 
in the line of spiritual development and ecclesiastical progress. 
\'ery many and quite varied religious opinions and practices 
have prevailed. Earnest discussions and sometimes violent con- 
tentions have taken place. Religious societies have come into be- 
ing and prospered for a time, then declined and disappeared, and 
others have taken their places. Still the great under-lying prin- 
ciples of the holy religion of Jesus Christ have survived ; and 
that most important element — religious liberty — has been more 
and more thoroughly understood, and more and more firmly es- 
tablished as the years and the generations have passed by. And 



66 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

what has been done in this respect here in New England has 
been of incalculable service to the nation and the world. Well 
did Josiah Quincy, a former president of Harvard University, 
once say : "What lessoiis has New England, in every period 
of her history, given to the world? She has proved that all 
variety of Christian sects may live together in harmony under 
a government which allows ecjual privileges to all, exclusive pre- 
eminence to none; and that human happiness has no security 
but freedom, freedom none but virtue, virtue none but knowl- 
edge, and neither freedom nor virtue nor knowledge has any 
vigor or immortal hope, except in the principles of the Christian 
faith and in the sanctions of the Christian relig-ion." 



CHAPTER VIII. 
The Revolutionary War— 1775-1783. 

The struggle for liberty, through which our fathers passed a 
century and a quarter agO', was between a few feeble Colonies 
on one side, and a great and powerful Kingdom on the other. 
It resulted, indeed, in the independence of the Colonies, and the 
establishment of a Republic which has become one of the great 
powers of the earth. But it was at an expense of treasure and of 
blood, which, considered in connection with the small population 
and the limited resources of the country at the time, seems truly 
appalling. 

Each of the thirteen Colonies had a share in that vast ex- 
penditure ; but no one probably a larger share, according to its 
means, than Connecticut ; and no part of Connecticut a larger 
share than New London County, and no- part of the county a 
larger share than New London and Groton. And North Groton, 
now Ledyard, had its full proportion. Abundant proof of this is 
furnished in the following account of the massacre at Fort Gris- 
wold, taken from Tlic Springfield Republican, also in the appended 
list of North Groton men who served in the Revolution — ^SO' many 
of them at the cost of their lives. 

The Fort Griswold, Battle and Massacre. 

"At daybreak on Sept. 6, 1781, a British fleet of 32 sails 
appeared at the mouth of New London harbor. Sir Henry 
Clinton had sent Benedict Arnold to destroy stores, privateers, 
and forts. A native of Norwich, Arnold knew the country and 
its inhabitants. At about nine o'clock the troops began to land 
in two divisions of eight hundred men each. The first, under 
command of Arnold, landed on the west side of the harbor and 



68 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

immediately moved on the town of New London. Fort Trum- 
bull was then only a water battery, and readily yielded to a 
superior force coming from the land on its unprotected rear. 
Capt. Shapley and his men retired in their boats to reinforce Fort 
Griswold on the opposite hights. The second division, under 
command of Lieut.-Col. Eyre, landed at Groton point,, on the 
east side of the harbor. This force was to take Fort Griswold, 
which commanded the surrounding country, and would prevent 
all operations if held by the Americans. Meeting no opposition, 
they moved rapidly up the hill in twO' bodies. 

/ "Fort Griswold had a small regular garrison, but depended 
on the support of militia who- responded to alarm guns fired at 
the first sign of danger. From its position the surrounding coun- 
try was entirely at its mercy. On the morning of the fatal day 
Lieut.-Col. William Ledyard, commander of the military district 

I of New London, Groton and Stonington, took personal com- 
mand of this position as the best place from which to protect 

y the country. 

' "When the British fieet appeared, the alarm was fired to call 
in the militia. The signal was broken by the enemy. This 
alarm consisted of two guns discharged at intervals. Privateers 
had been in the habit of firing three guns on entering the harbor 
after a successful cruise. Arnold knew the signal of the fort, and 
he knew the habit of the privateers. By ordering a third gun, 
he broke the alarm. Ledyard then sent out two messengers to 
tell every militia captain to hurry his men tO' the fort. But ex- 
presses could not go far in a few hours, and the enemy moved 
rapidly. Only i6o men were in the fort when the storming com- 
menced. They were not enough to man the 2>'^ guns of the fort 
and dependent batteries. While many had seen service on bat- 
tle fields and privateers, a very large number had never been in 
action. 

"A detachment under command of Col. Eyre halted and pre- 
pared for action behind a ledge of rocks 130 rods south of the 
fort; one under command of Maj. Montgomery, behind Avery's 
hill, 150 rods to the south-east. About 10 o'clock Eyre sent a 
flag to demand surrender, which was refused. A second flag was 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ^77S~^7^2)- 69 

sent, with the statement that if he had to take the place by storm, 
martial law would be put in force. This was understood to mean 
death by bayonet to all who survived the storming. Without a 
dissenting vote, Ledyard and his officers replied that the fort 
would not be given up, be the consequences what they might. 
The obstinacy of these men is inspiring. If they had surrendered 
in this contest of five tO' one, history would have approved the 
act. Fort Griswold was thus made an altar of liberty, on which 
was offered the last sacrifice on New England soil ; it was trans- 
formed into a monument to the bravery of its little garrison and 
their stubborn loyalty to duty. 

It was 1 1 o'clock when the second fiag returned with Led- 
yard's answer. Immediately both British divisions started, mov- 
ing rapidly. Capt. Halsey directed a charge of grape into Eyre's 
solid column, clearing a wide space, killing and wounding over 
20 men, disabling their leader and scattering the column. They 
rallied and returned to the attack, tO' be repulsed a second time. 
Montgomery's column was approaching from the east, suffering 
severely under a heavy fire from the fort and east battery. Sev- 
eral times the enemy were repulsed and demoralized, once so 
completely that the cheers of the little band rang out over the 
hills in triumph to their listening homes. 

"But for an accident the fort would probably not have been 
taken. Seeing that the position was stronger than he had sup- 
posed, Arnold sent an officer to, Eyre to^ countermand the order 
for an attack. This officer was instructed tO' make all possible 
haste to deliver the message, that the storming might not be 
begun. But a stray shot cut the halyards of the flag and it fell 
to the ground. Though this was instantly caught up and re- 
mounted on a pike pole, the enemy thought it had been struck 
by its defenders and rallied with determined energy. They 
swarmed intO' the ditch and assaulted the fort on three sides. 
There was hard fighting at every point. Cannon balls and other 
missiles were hurled by hand upon those who' came near the 
walls. Williams and Bailey, who worked the one-gun battery at 
the east, were forced tO' fly for their lives. One of the assailants 
boldly tried to unlock the gate and was killed. It was a long 



yO HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

time before another could get near enough to make the attempt. 
The assailants were losing heavily. 

"A grand-daughter of Caleb Avery writes me : 'I have often 
heard grandmother and aunt and father recount the terrible mas- 
sacre at Fort Griswold ; I have always understood from them that 
the British were repulsed so successfully that they were in a 
demoralized condition, when the flag was shot from the pole, 
which caused the enemy to make a desperate assault.' Caleb 
Avery was one of the defenders. 

"That desperate rush gave entrance at the south-west bastion, 
which was entered through its embrasure. Soon the sallyport 
was forced. The enemy mounted the south wall. Montgomery 
was killed while coming through an embrasure, and died with the 
words, 'Put every man to" death.' Tlie main gate had now been 
opened and the British were pouring into the fort. The day 
was lost. 

"Ledyard ordered his men to throw down their arms. He 
himself approached the British leader to surrender. When 
within six feet, Bromfield called out : 'Who commands this 
fort?' 'I did, but you do now,' said Ledyard, presenting his 
sword. Bromfield seized the weapon and plunged it through 
Ledyard's heart, driving it through the body from the left armpit 
to the right. Capt. Youngs Ledyard and many of his companions 
rushed again into the thick of the fight and died around the body 
of their chief. Maddened by the determined resistance of so 
small a force, by Montgomery's death, and by the havoc made 
in their ranks, the enemy proceeded to execute the threat made 
by Eyre before the battle. Platoon after platoon delivered their 
fire into a garrison that had thrown down their arms. Squad 
after squad kept pouring volleys into^ the magazine, where many 
had fled, till Bromfield called out: 'Stop firing; you'll send us 
all to hell together.' Soldiers in broken ranks rushed here and 
there plying the bayonet on living and dead. Some they brained 
with clubbed muskets, others they knocked senseless and stabbed. 
Daniel Stanton, helpless with a bullet woimd, received 20 gashes 
with bayonets and cutlasses. The wounded crying piteously for 
life were nmrdered in their bloody Park Avery received a bayo- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 1 775- 1 783. 7I 

net thrust that carried away one eye and part of the skull. One 
man's ribs were driven from the bone by the stroke of a musket 
butt. 'Be Jasus, I'll skipper ye!' screamed a Briton as he planted 
his bayonet in Rufus Avery's breast. Charles Eldridge, helpless 
with wounds, saved his life by giving a gold watch to the soldier 
that would transfix him. John Daboll. who had been already 
disabled, was knocked senseless by a rufifian who was in the act 
of bayoneting him when a British officer drove him off. Edward 
Stanton's left breast was torn open by a wound that showed 
the heart ; but a British officer, of whom he asked aid, bound up 
the wound with a night-cap that he took from his pocket, gave 
him water, and saved a life. Some fought with the desperation 
of despair, selling their lives at a fearful price. Others dropped 
among the slain and feigned dead. Many jumped from the 
parapets to meet death in trying to flee. Samuel W. Jacques 
alone escaped unhurt. Having killed his antagonist in a hand- 
to-hand fight, he leaped from the walls unseen. But 'it was a 
source of grief to him in his last hours that he won his freedom 
by the death of one so young and beautiful.' The enemy kept 
saying that they must all die before sundown ; for that was in the 
summons sent to Col. Ledyard. 

"But not all were of this mind. After the deadly order had 
been well-nigh executed, an English officer, who is said to have 
entered the fort too late to stop the butchery, cried out : 'My 
soul cannot bear such destruction !' Ordering the drums to beat 
a parley, he stopped the carnage. 

"Stephen Hempstead says : 'The cruelty of our enemies can- 
not be conceived, and our renegade countrymen surpassed in this 
respect, if possible, our British foes. We were at least an hour 
after the battle within a few steps of a pump in the garrison, well 
supplied with water ; and although we were suffering with thirst, 
they would not permit us to take one drop of it nor give us any 
themselves. Some of our number, who' had not been disabled 
from going to the pump, were repulsed with the bayonet, and 
not one drop did I taste after the action commenced, although 
begging for it after I was wounded of all who came near me.' 

"Eighty-eight victims of 'martial law' lay dead upon the 



72 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

ground. Most of those not killed were wounded by the bayonet. 
Only six or seven of the garrison had been slain when the fort 
was taken. One month later Yorktown fell, but not a Briton 
was killed except in fair fight. Alexander Hamilton led the 
American attacking column. The redoubt that he took was car- 
ried by the bayonet. Not one of the enemy was injured after he 
surrendered. Our troops showed to the world that they would 
not be provoked into retaliation for the butchery of Fort Gris- 
wold. Two years before this Wayne had stormed the fortress at 
Stony Point. The attack was at midnight, when fiercest passions 
might be aroused in a hand-to-hand fight in the darkness. Yet 
not a man in- the fort was put to death except in fair combat, and 
not one was hurt after he surrendered. The British themselves 
praised the magnanimity of our men. 

"At I o'clock the enemy began preparations for departure. 
They loaded a large wagon with the wounded to be taken to the 
boats. They piled them in on top of each other, like cordwood. 
Starting to draw the wagon down hill to- the place of embarka- 
tion, they found themselves unable tO' control the heavy load. 
Letting the wagon run down the incline, it struck a tree with 
such force that many of the wounded were thrown out and killed. 
One who had been thrown out attempted to crawl away and was 
knocked in the head with a musket butt. Twenty-six were car- 
ried ofif to Briton prison ships. Thirty-five of the most severely 
wounded wxre paroled at the request of Ebenezer Ledyard, eldest 
brother of the murdered colonel. These were taken by the 
British into the house of Ebenezer Avery, near the place where 
the enemy were to embark. vSoon after the men had been taken 
to this house, marauders fired it in several rooms. These fires 
were extinguished with difficulty. At Mr. Ledyard's request, 
Capt. Bromfield posted a sentinel to defend the helpless fellows 
till the last PJritish soldier had embarked. This was not till ii 
o'clock at night. The blood that flowed from their wounds 
stained the floor where the men lay. The ow^ner of the house, 
who was one of the number, would never allow it tO' be washed 
out. These blood stains can be seen to-day. 

"It was a night of terrible anguish. Thirty-five mangled, ex- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ^775-^7^3- 73 

hausted men suffered by exposure and cold, racked by spasms 
and the tortures of undressed wounds, weakened from loss of 
blood, parched with thirst ; not a friendly hand to relieve distress, 
turn the aching" body, or bear a last message from those upon 
whom the day would dawn in eternity. But the morn brought 
relief. None of the friends or neighbors dared to come to their 
relief till daylight, not knowing that the enemy had gone. First 




Avery House. 

to appear was Miss Fanny Ledyard. neice of the dead colonel. 
Stephen Hempstead says : 'We were a horrible sight at this 
time. Our friends did not know us. Even my own wife came 
in the room to search for me. and did not recognize me ; and as 
I did not see her, she left the room to look for me among the 
slain. ... It was with the utmost difficulty that many of 
them could be identified, and so we were frequently called upon 
to assist their friends in distinguishing them, by remembering 
particular wound, etc. Being myself taken out for that purpose, 



74 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

I met my wife and brother. . . . Never, for a moment, have 
I regretted the share I had in it. I would be wiUing, if possible, 
to suffer it again.' 

"The American dead were left unburied, mostly within the 
fort walls. The British had all that they could do' to attend to 
their own wounded and slain. Their dead were buried in the 
ditch of the triangular work before the gate and in shallow graves 
near it. Maj. Montgomery and one or two other officers were 
buried in the fort, under the embrasure where Montgomery fell. 
Great emergencies call forth acts of pathetic devotion. Edward 
Mills lived three miles from the fort, and responded to^ the alarm 
on that fatal morning. Anna Warner was a member of her 
uncle's household. During the long hours of that terrible day 
no tidings reached the home but the boom of cannon. At its 
close no message came. Night passed and morning dawned, but 
no tidings reached the distracted wife. At an early hour Anna 
walked to the fort. On the floor of Avery's house she found 
her uncle. At sight of her he began toi moiurn for his wife and 
children. Hastening back to the lonely home, placing the wife 
and elder child upon the horse, and taking the babe in her arms, 
she hurried to the dying father and placed the infant on his 
breast. Capt. Burroughs, hearing the signal gun, left his oxen 
still hitched to the plow and started for the fort, taking his son 
to ride back the horse. 'When will you get back?' asked the 
wife. 'Good-by ! God knows !' On the morrow the son rode 
back the horse for the body of his father. The wife and daughter 
of Buddington watched, with anxious eyes, as he left their home 
above the fort and went within its gate. All that dreadful day 
they watched the battle and conflagration from the rocks above 
the fight. The long suspense ripened intO' months of heartache. 
They never knew whether father and husband were dead or alive 
till the starved and sick survivor of the prison ship staggered 
across the threshold of his home. John Prentis, and others who 
had dropped among the shin and feigned dead, arose during the 
night and ministered to the wants of their dying companions. 

"The defenders of Fort Griswold were mostly young men. 
Fifty-two of their tombstones give dates of birth. Most of them 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR I775-I783. 75 

were less than 30; 36 were under 40; only 16 were over that 
age. Lieut.-Col. Ledyard was but 43. Boys were there, and 
one aged sire whose locks had been silvered by the snows of 70 
winters. Daniel Williams fell at the age of 15 ; James Comstock 

£t 75- 

"In the darkness of the morning, anxious wives and mothers, 
daughters and aged sires, sisters and those oi a tenderer tie, 
groped among the slain for those who' had left their hearth stones 
not a day before. As the lantern gleam showed the lifeless 
features of one, and another, and then another of neighbors 
whom they had known for years, they came at last upon the mu- 
tilated form of the one they sought. Often they were so dis- 
figured as to need some mark to- prove the body. The dead were 
borne, one by one, tO' their last resting places in the different 
towns. 

"Four or five hundred yards south-east of the fort are the 
graves of Ledyard and many of his fellow-martyrs. Here Led- 
yard saw the British column trample the grave of his daughter 
whom he had laid tO' rest just six weeks before that day. Tlie 
state of Connecticut has erected a granite monument over the 
remains of William Ledyard. Near it is all that relic hunters 
have left of the original tombstone. The inscription has been 
nearly all chipped away, but it may be found copied upon the 
north side of the monument. In a wooded valley called "Gunga- 
wamp' is a rough granite slab bearing the letters N. A. This 
marks the grave of Jolin Adams's brother, Nathaniel. Many ol 
the graves were never marked and cannot be located. In 1826-30, 
Groton monument was erected 'In memory of the patriots who 
fell in the massacre of Fort Griswold near this spot on the 6th of 
September, A. D. 1781, when the British, under the conmiand of 
the traitor, Benedict Arnold, burnt the towns of New London 
and Groton. and spread desolation and woe throughout this 
region.' The top of this granite obelisk is 265 feet above the har- 
bor. Within the door of the monument is a marble slab bearing 
the names of those who fell ; beside it hang many relics of the 
battle. In the Bill Memorial Library near by is the sword of 
Ledyard. It is a short weapon of the rapier pattern. In the 



76 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



atheneum at Hartford are the vest and shirt that he wore, with 
the rents made by the sword. The writer has a piece of the 
trimming of this vest, presented by a granddaughter of Gurdon 
Ledyard, a brother of the colonel. 

"In form and outline Fort Griswold is substantially the same 
as when taken by the British. In the south-west bastion is the 




6caLe. o^ SoVards 



Plan of Port Griswold, Groton, Conn. 



ruined masonry of the old magazine. Across the east side of 
the parade are the remains of the barrack chimneys ; the stone 
foundations of the old platform run along the west. On the right 
of the gate is the well ; in the south wall, opposite, is the sallyport 
where Shapley's party entered, with its covered way outside. In 
front of the gate is what was left of the breast-work after the 
enemy had shoveled it into the ditch to bury their slain ; just 
within is the marble slab* marking the spot where Ledyard fell. 



*This was erected by Frederic Bill, of Groton. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR — I 775-1 783. "jy 

On the south parapet is the embrasure where Montgomery died 
by Lambert Latham's pike; near it is his grave. Capt. Amos 
Stanton of the continental army happened to be at home at the 
time on a furlough, and went into the fort that morning as a 
volunteer. He was an experienced soldier, and far superior in 
military ability to any man present at the council of war held 
early m the day. He wished to meet the enemy at the landing 
and skirmish with them through the woods, handling his men so 
that the^r would seem more than they were. The constantly ar- 
riving militia and volunteers could thus be given an opportunity 
to swell the number of fighters, while the enemy were held in 
check. It was the plan followed with success at Concord, Lexing- 
ton, Xorwalk and other places. But as it was, the speedy arrival 
of the British prevented the assembling of more than 160 men. 

"Though the Connecticut coast had been terrorized by war 
ships that patroled the Sound, New London had thus far escaped 
in spite of the stronger reasons for destroying it than attached to 
any other place. British and tories hated the town. It was a 
stronghold of the privateers that played such havoc with English 
merchant marine, and helped to bring the war to its close. 'Two 
hundred and fifty vessels in the West India trade, with cargoes 
amounting to $10,000,000, were captured in a single year.' Tn 
the year 1777 alone only 40 English vessels out of 200 engaged 
in the African trade escaped the American cruisers.' For the in- 
surance of a single vessel for a single voyage more than 50 per 
cent, was paid in England. Moist of these privateers went out 
from the harbors of Essex County in Massachusetts and New 
London County in Connecticut. At the end of the war the port 
of Salem counted a privateer force of 4,000 men and 1,280 guns. 
The New London force was as strong till weakened by Arnold's 
raid. In the single year 1779, 18 prizes were taken into that port. 
A few weeks before the event of which we write, the Hannah, 
laden with an unusually rich cargo, was brought into New Lon- 
don by the Minerva. This prize, valued at $400,000 was prob- 
ably the richest that the American privateers had ever taken. It 
is thought that this seizure was the immediate cause of Arnold's 
raid. 



78 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

"In New London was a fabulous amount of accumulated 
store; but the enemy enjoyed no plunder, and were able to 
destroy but a small fraction of this booty. The privateers and 12 
other vessels, having taken on board their stores and plunder, 
went up the river out of danger. The forts were not even 
destroyed, owing to- the haste of the enemy and the watchfulness 
oi the Americans. Arnold's orders had been to burn the bar- 
racks ol Fort Griswold and blow up the magazine. When leav- 
ing the enemy laid a train of powder and fired it. This*was put 
out by those who had dropped among the slain to save their lives. 
The Italian historian, Botta, says : 'This expedition was but a 
piratical inroad, absolutely without utility.' 

"This was probably, also a move on the chessboard of war. 
Washington and Clinton were playing a game between York- 
town and New York, with advantages in Washington's favor. 
Some doubt the theory that Arnold's raid was tO' draw ofif Wash- 
ington from New York, which Clinton supposed was the real 
objective point of the expedition tO' Virginia; but suggest that 
Clinton thought a severe blow against New London would delay 
reinforcements from that region. It has always been believed 
that Clinton hoped to secure this as an advantageous base of 
operations from which to attack New England. The obstinate 
resistance at the fort, the militia that were rallying like hornets, 
the threatening attitude of the inhabitants, and the non-appear- 
ance of the sympathizers that they expected to see, warned the 
enemy that the place was untenable. 

"While the British failed largely to accomplish their declared 
object, they destroyed a large amount of private property. Ship- 
ping that did not go up the river was burned, with most of the 
wharves and warehouses. The Hannah, the immediate cause of 
all this trouble, was destroyed, with her cargo. Arnold pretended 
to aim only at the destruction of privateers and public property. 
He professed great regret for the burning of the towns, but 
strong evidence supports the personal malice theory. One hun- 
dred and forty-three buildings were destroyed in New London, 
including the homes of 97 families; in Groton 12 houses and 9 
other buildings. The British lost over 220 men, killed and 
missing." 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR-— 1 775- 1 783. 



79 



Men of Ledyard in the Revolutionary War. 



Ichabod Babcock, 
Daniel Stoddard, 
Robert Stoddard, 
William Forsyth, 
Joshua Bill, 
John Packer, 
Andrew Gallup, 
Thomas Smith, 
Zebanah Williams, 



William Noyes, 
William Latham, 
Nehemiah Gallup, 
Thomas Roach, 
Ralph Stoddard, 
Vine Stoddard, 
Asa Lester, 
Nathan Lester, 
Phineas Bill. 



Killed in Fort Griswold. 



Capt. Samuel Allyn, 
Capt. Simeon Allyn, 
Belton Allyn, 
Benadam Allyn, 
Corporal Andrew Billings, 
Andrew Baker, 
Samuel Hill, 

Sergeant Rufus Hurlbutt, 
Moses Jones, 
Lieut. Joseph Lewis, 
Ensign John Lester, 
Corporal Simeon Morgan, 
Thomas Miner. 



Joseph Mo'xley, 
Corporal Luke Perkins, Ji 
Elisha Perkins, 
Luke Perkins, 
Asa Perkins, 
Elnathan Perkins, 
Simeon Perkins, 
Capt. Amos Stanton, 
Sergeant John Stedman, 
Corporal Nathan Sholes, 
David Seabury, 
Lieut. Plenry Williams, 
Joseph Wedger. 



CHAPTER IX. 
The Second War with England— 1812-15. 

Our second war with England, like the first, was occasioned 
by England's fanlt ; and both of them resulted disastrously to 
her — advantageously to us. Previous to this second war Eng- 
land had been accustomed to assume and maintain "the right 
of search" in regard to our vessels upon the high seas. Under 
the cover of this so-called right she would board and overhaul 
American vessels wherever found — take from them able-bodied 
men, upon the claim that they were deserters and press them 
into her naval service. In this way many grievous wrongs were 
committed. American citizens, engaged in legitimate pursuits, 
were seized and hurried away into the service of England. This 
nefarious business was carried on for many years. At length it 
was felt by oiir rulers, and perhaps by a majority of the people, 
that it should be endured no longer. The result was the War 
of 1812-15. The fighting in this war was mostly done at sea; 
and, in the great majority of cases, with brilliant achievements on 
the part of the American Navy. The battle of New Orleans on 
Jan. 8, 181 5, under the leadership of Gen. Andrew Jackson, was a 
triumphant conclusion of the war — ^fought, though it was, after 
the terms of peace had been agreed upon. This vv^ar was not 
very popular in Connecticut, though the Connecticut sailors 
M'ent into it most heartily, hoping thus to avenge the injuries 
that the mother country had heaped upon them by her "right-of- 
search" proceedings. The people of the State generally were 
not in favor of the war for the reason that a law, recommended 
by the President and adopted by Congress, to the effect that 
"the seamen, ships and merchandise of the United States should 
be detained in port to preserve them from the dangers which 



THE SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND — 1812-15. 81 

threatened them upon the ocean," interfered very seriously with 
their trade to foreign ports. Still there was no open revolt, and 
the State as such co-operated in carrying on the war till a fav- 
orable conclusion was reached. Large numbers of men were 
called out from Groton and adjoining towns for the defense of 
Stonington, when bombarded by a British fleet in Aug., 1814. 
Almost every man in North Groton, liable to bear arms, went 
into the service. Though no man was killed, there were two at 
least who had a very narrow escape, viz., William Avery and 
Joseph Geer. By direction of the officer in charge, they had gone 
down to the beach with an ox-team to draw away a field-piece that 
was lying there to prevent it from falling into the hands of the 
enemy. \Miile engaged in this work a cannon ball, fired from one 
of the British ships, passed over the backs of their oxen, and within 
a few feet of their own heads, and near where Gurdon Bill, who 
was doing sentry duty, stood. Mr. Bill was, at the time of this 
attack, in Stonington, engaged in teaching school, and while not 
a member of the military company, yet was summoned by the 
officer above-named to the duty assigned as above. Shortly after 
the incident referred to a boat-load of British troops started for 
the shore, with a view, doubtless, to reconnoiter as they landed, 
and while forming, a company of minute men concealed behind a 
stone wall near by, opened fire and being taken completely by 
surprise the enemy went pellmell for their boat, and in doing so 
quite a number lost and dropped their guns which were picked 
up by our men. ^Ir. Bill securing one, which was always kept 
by him as a trophy of the battle, and is now in the possession of 
Mr. Frederic A. Bill, of Springfield, Mass. 

Early in the war the squadron of Commodore Decatur, con- 
sisting of three ships, was chased into New London harbor by a 
greater force of British war-ships, and for two years Decatur's 
ships lay in the Thames within a few miles of Norwich, the 
British ships remaining off the mouth of the harbor and so 
closely blockading its approaches that no vessels could enter or 
leave without risk of capture. While lying in the Thames the 
gallant Commodore took measures to defend himself should the 

6 



82 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD, 



British attempt to ascend the river and attack him. He built a 
fortification on the top of a high hill just north of Gale's Ferry, 
and mounted cannons upon it in positions which would render it 
well-nigh impossible for any British vessel to proceed northward 

much above New 
London. That old 
fortification is still 
extant, though in 
quite a dilapidated 
condition. It is in 
the form of a tri- 
angle. One side, 
fronting eastward, 
is 130 feet, more or 
less, in length. An- 
other, fronting 
toward the south- 
west, and lying 
nearly at right 
angles with the 
river, is about no feet long. The remaining side, parallel with 
the river, is about 90 feet long. The fortification has long borne 
the name of Fort Decatur. On its north-west corner is a huge 
granite boulder, five or six feet high, bearing this inscription: 

This Boulder Was Marked By The 

Belton Allyn vSociety C A. R. 

Of Gale's Ferry As Being The 

North Boundary Of Fort Decatur 

That Was Erected In The Years 

1813 And 1814 To Protect 

Decatur's Fleet From The British 




Fort Decatur. 



Feb. 28, 1898. 



CHAPTER X. 
The Civil War of 1861-5. 

The Civil War of 1861-5 was between the great loyal North 
on one side and the "solid South" on the other. It was precipi- 
tated by the South in their secession from the Union, and this 
with the view of riveting more firmly. the chains of slavery. It 
was entered upon and prosecuted by the North primarily for the 
purpose of preserving the integrity of the nation. It resulted in 
the overthrow of slavery, the emancipation of three millions of 
bondmen, and the re-establishment of the nation upon a much 
broader and firmer foundation than that upon which it had 
previously rested. The cost of the war in treasure and blood was 
immense. In the South it was perfectly overwhelming. In the 
North the strain was so severe that it was felt in every fiber ol 
the nation's life. Every portion of the country, from the largest 
city to the smallest town, had a share in it about as large as it 
was able tO' bear. How large the share of Ledyard was will ap- 
pear in part in the long list of volunteers engag-ed in the conflict. 
A granite shaft, in memory of the fallen, stands on the "Com- 
mon," in front of the church at the center of the town, and dedi- 
cated on July 4, 1873, and was the gift of Ledyard Bill. The 
services of the dedication were held in the church where Gov. 
Wm. A. Buckingham, and Col. Hoyt, speaker of the House of 
Representatives, delivered addresses, followed by remarks by Col. 
John T. Wait and others, Mr. Bill first making delivery of the 
monument to John Brewster, Esq., Chairman of the Selectmen. 
The committee in charge of the arrangements for the day con- 
sisted of Hon. Henry Larrabee, Edmund Spicer, Esq., and Rev. 
Charles Cutting. At the close of the exercises, a picnic dinner 
was served by the ladies of the town to several hundred people. 

The address of Gov. Buckingham, on this occasion, was ac- 



84 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF" LEDVARD. 

counted by his friends to have been among the very best of all 
his efforts during his public life. 

Volunteers from Ledyard, 1861-5. 
First Connecticut Cavalry. 

Cook, William T., Lieutenant.* 

Knapp, Henry E., Private, Co. B. 

Lamb, Franklin A., Commissary Sergeant, Co. B. 

Brown, Daniel H., Private, Co. C. 

Egan, Michael, Private, Co. C. 

Brown, Elias S., First Lieutenant, Co. G. 

Whipple, Daniel, Sergeant, Co. G.* 

Whipple, Samuel S., Sergeant, Co. G. 

Bolles, Orrin S., Corporal, Co.. L* 

Chapman, Daniel, Private, Co. L. 

Brown, Ferdinand, First Sergeant, Co. M. 

Turner, Isaac D., First Sergeant, Co. M. 

Eighth Infantry. 

Lamb, Samuel S., Private, Co. G. 

Tenth Infantry. 

Allyn, Asa, Private, Co. H. 

Bromley, Lyman W., Private, Co. H.* 

Eleventh Infantry. 

Satterlee, Dwight, Assistant Surgeon. 
Rogers, Samuel C, Private, Co. H. 
Smith, George A., Private, unassigned. 

Tzvelfth Infantry. 

Avery, Horace, Private, Co., D. 
Ball, Cephas, Private, Co. D. 
Turner, Henry, Private, Co. D. 
AWyn, Stanton, First Lieutenant, Co. K. 
Avery, Alexander W., Sergeant, Co. K. 



*Enlisted in other towns, according- to Catalogue 



THE CIVIL WAR OF 1861-5. 85 

McCracken, Charles T., Sergeant K. 
Stoddard, Orrin E., Sergeant, Co. K. 
Ball, Frederick N., Corporal, Co. K. 
Ball, John G., Corporal, Co. K. 
Clarke, Thomas J., Wagoner, Co. K. 
Ball. Grosvenor. Private, Co. K.* 
Clark, Edwin, Private, Co. K. 
Comstock, Charles H., Private, Co. K.* 
Peckham, Adin R., Private, Co. K. 
Perkins, Albert M., Private, Co. K. 
Perkins. Charles L., Private, Co. K. 
Pratt, Gurdon, Private Co. K.* 
Reynolds, William H., Private, Co. K. 
Cold, George, Private, unassigned. 

Thirteenth Infantry. 
Smith, William, Private, Co. I. 

Fourteenth Infantry. 

Wagner, Henry, Private, Co. C. 
Lull, Oscar S., Private, Co. E. 
Dart, John N., Private, Co. H. 
Perkins, Prentice A., Private, Co. H. 
Thomas, George, Private, Co. I. 
Allyn, Stephen D., Private, Co. K. 
Allyn, William R., Private, Co. K.=^ 
Dyetch, Jacob, Private, Co. K. 
Hasler, Henry, Private, Co. K. 
Maynard, Erastus A., Private, Co: K, 
Babcock, George W., Private, Co. K. 

Eighteenth Infantry. 

Caswell, Guilford, Private, Co. F. 

Mastin, James W., Private, Co. F. 

Sweet, William H., Private, Co. F. , 

*Enlisted in other towns, according' to Catalogue. 



86 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD.,* 

Twenty-first Infantry. 
Bailey, Thomas L., Corporal, Co. C. 
Wilcox, Chauncey F., Corporal, Co. C* 
Gallup, Francis E., Private, Co. C. 
Ivatham, Ira C, Private, Co. C* 
Maynard, Augustus E., Private, Co. C. 
Meech, George F., Private, Co. C. 
Peckham, Benjamin B., Private, Co. C. 
Green, Gurdon, Private, Co. E. 
Moxley, Solon R., Private, Co. F. 
West, William R., Corporal, Co. G. 
Lamb, Warren A., Private, Co. G.* 
Main, John L., Private, Co. I. 

Tzvcnty-sLvth In fan try. 
Gray, Montgomery, Private, Co. B. 
Johnson, Henry, Private, Co. B. 
Lamb, Noyes, Private, Co. B. 
Avery, Timothy A., Second Lieutenant, Co. D. 
Mo'ffitt, Arden, Second Lieutenant, Co. D. 
Tutile, Erastus R., Sergeant, Co. D. 
Chapman, Ephraim A., Corporal, Co. D. 
Lee, Denison P., Corporal, Co. D. 
Miller, George, Corporal, Co. D. 
Allyn, James A., Private, Co'. D. 
Allyn, Denison, Private, Co. D. 
Allyn, Nicholas, Private, Co. D. 
Ball, Henry J., Private, Co. D. 
Bromley, Isham, Private, Co. D. 
Chapman, William E., Private, Co. D. 
Christie, Edwin L., Private, Co. D. 
Christie, Jonathan L., Private, Co. D. 
Crouch, William W., Private, Co. D. 
Farrelly, Peter, Private, Co. D. 
Frink, Thomas H., Private, Co. D. 
Maynard, Appleton J., Private, Co-. D. 



^Enlisted in other towng, according to C^tg,log^ue, 



THE CIVIL WAR OF 1861-5. 87 

Mitchell, John N., Private, Co. D. 
Murfit, Ray, Private, Co. D. 
Myers, Elias E., Private, Co. D. 
Palmer, Moses N., Private, Co. D. 
Slater, Rudolph, Private, Co. D. 
Smith, William, Private, Co. D. 
Stoddard, Simeon A., Private, Co. D. 
Whipple, Austin, Private, Co. D. 
Gray, Stephen, Private, Co. K. 
Sawyer, Peter, Private, Co. D. 

Tzvcnty-ninth Infantry — Colored. 
Fisher, Isaac J., Private, Co. K. 
Hoxie, Noyes J., Private, Co. K. 
Jones, John M., Private, Co. K. 
Lawrence, Amasa, Private, Co. K. 
Lee, George, Private, Co. K. 

Thirty-first Infantry — Colored. 
Peckham, Albert A., Private, Co. B. 

Enlisted in Regular Army. 
Spicer, Allen, Third Artillery. 
Turner, Henry, Fourteenth Infantry, Co. E. 
Morgan, Frank, Fourteenth Infantry, Co. H. 
Morgan, Simeon, Fourteenth Infantry, Co. G. 

Members in Navy. 
Ball, Justin. 

Gallup, Christopher M., "Landsman." 
Allyn, Gurdon L. 
Bailey, Latham A. 
Ball, 'Guilford. 

Brown, Latham A. ' 

Satterlee, Charles h. 
Stoddard, Ebenezer M. 

Enlisted in other States, 
Ball, Thomas, New York. 
Gallup, Simeon, Rhode Island, 



CHAPTER XL 
Family Histories and Genealogies. 

THE ALLYN FAMILY. 

(By Thomas Latham). 

The Allyns of Ledyard are undoubtedly of Eng-lish descent. 
A coat of arms, at present in possession of Gurdon F. AUyn, 
of Salem, Conn., has an accompanying description which con- 
tains the names of John Allyn, of Utoixeter, in the county of 
Stafford, Francis Allyn. of London, and also the names of 
Richard Allyn, Thomas Allyn and William Allyn. 

History informs us that a certain William Allyn was a Pro- 
testant Martyr of Walsingham, England, during the reign of the 
"Bloody Mary." We are told that for refusing to read the 
"Book of Sports," and for refusing to follow the cross in pro- 
cession he was condemned to death, was permitted to go to^ the 
stake untied, where he was chained and stood quietly without 
sJiriukiug, until he died, one year after John Rogers suffered 
martyrdom at Smithfield. 

L 

Robert Allyn, who- was born in 1608, emigrated tO' Salem, 
Mass., in 1637. He united with the church in 1642, and moved 
to New London in 1651. He was one of the company who* first 
purchased the Town oi Norwich, and he obtained a grant of a 
large tract of land on the Thames River, including "Allyn's 
Point," where he died, in 1683, aged 75 years. 

His children were 

John, m. Elizabeth Gager. 
Sarah, m. George Geer. 
Mary, m. Thomas Park, 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 89 

Hannah, m. Thomas Rose. 

Deborah, m. John Gager, Jr. * 

II. 

John Allyn, who was bom about 1640, married Elizabeth 
Gag'er, daughter of John Gager, of "New Norridge," Dec. 24, 
1668. He died in 1709, leaving an estate valued at £1,278, to 
be divided between his only son, Robert, and only daughter, 
Elizabeth, wife of Thohias Waterman. His inventory named 
three farms and a trading post on the Thames river. 

Among his household effects were) a silver tankard, cup, 
tumbler and whistle, a gold ring, a wrought cushion and a 
lignum-vitse mortar and pestle. 

III. 

Robert, son of John Allyn and Elizabeth Gager, married 
Deborah Avery, Jan. 26, 1691. 
Their children were 

1. Elizabeth, b. Nov. 20, 1693, m. Jonathan Williams. 

2. John, b. Jan. lo, 1695, m. Joanna Miner, 1726. 

3. Robert, b. Jan. 25, 1697, m. Abigail Avery, 1725. 

4. Ebenezer, b. Feb. 29, 1699, "^- J^iary Thurber, 1726. -.^ 

5. James, b. Feb. 29, 1699, m. Althea Avery, 1729. 

6. Christopher, b. April 12, 1702, died March 26, 1703. 

7. Samuel, b. May 26, 1704, m. Hannah Avery, 1731. 

8. Christopher, b. July 26, 1706. 

9. Lucy, b. July 29, 1708, died unmarried. 

10. Nathan, b. Oct. 5, 1711. m. Jane Purl. 

11. Deborah, b. , m. Jonathan Lester. 

IV. 

Ebenezer Allyn, born Feb. 29, 1699, married Mary Thurber, 
April 27, 1726. He died April 21, 1760. She died Nov. 16, 
1780. 

Their children were 

1. Ebenezer, b. Jan. 25, 1727, died same date. 

2. Mary, b. Nov. 26, 1727, died young. 



go HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

3. Soil, b. Sept. 6, 1729, died Nov. 5, 1729. 

4. Deborah, b. Oct. i, 1730, died April 19, 1731. 

5. Lucy, b. Feb. 14, 1732, m. James Avery, 1749. 

6. Mary, b. July 4, 1734, m. Thos. Lester, 1754. 

7. Priscilla, b. June 24, 1736, m. John Allyn. 

8. Rebecca, b. May 3, 1738, m. Ezekiel Turner. 

9. Ebenezer, b. March 28, 1740. 

10. Thomas, b. June 23, 1742, m. Lucy Avery, 1762. 

11. Rufus, b. Aug. 17, 1745, m. Hannah Billings, 1766. 

12. Amos, b. Feb. 21, 1748, m. EHzabeth Morgan. 

V. 

Thomas Allyn married Lucy Avery, Nov. 30, 1762. 
Their children were 

1. Thomas, b. Sept. 20, 1763, died May 20, 1849. 

2. Lucy, b. March 16, 1766. 

3. Eunice, b. Aug. 7, 1768. 

4. Joshua, b. July 22, 1770. — 

5. Cyrus, b. May 22, 1772, died Oct. 25, 1774. 

6. Anna, b. Jan. 13, 1775. 

7. Phebe, b. Oct. 17, 1778, died June 12, 1786. 

VL 

Thomas Allyn, son of Thomas and Lucy Avery Allyn, born 
Sept. 20, 1763, married Susannah Morgan. He died May 20, 
1849. She died June 20, 1850. 

Children : — 

Isaac A., died Nov. 27, 1802, aged 17 years. 
Cyrus, b. Feb. 14, 1786, died Jan. 12, 1840. 
Susannah, died March 16, 1839, aged 50 years. 
Lucy, married Edmund Stoddard. 
Prudence, died Dec. 30, 1814, aged 23 years. 
The Susannah, who died in 1839, was the first wife of Guy C. 
Stoddard. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 9I 

VII. 

Cyrus, son of Thomas and Susannah Morgan Allyn, born 
Feb. 14, 1786, married Mary Morgan. He died Jan. 12, 1840. 
She died June 12, 1869. 

Children : — 

1. Cyrus Morgan, b. March 27, 181 6. 

2. Sidney, b. May 12, 1817, died April 15, 1890. 

3. Caroline, b. Oct. 9, 1818, died Oct. 13, 1820. 

4. Susan Mary, b. Feb. 10, 1820, died Oct. 12, 1896. 

5. Thomas Avery, b. Dec. 5, 1821, died Feb. 8, 1895. 

6. Theophilus Morgan, b. Nov. 23. 1823. 

7. Charlotte Maconda, b. Oct. 6, 1824. 

8. John Hobart, b. Sept. 30, 1827, died March 29, 1887. 

9. Byron, b. Feb. 2, 1830, died Nov. 25, 1830. 

10. Byron, b. Oct. 31, 1831, killed Nov. 16, 1881. 

11. Jeannette Dwight, b. April 2, 1834, died Aug. 22, 1875. 

12. Prudence, b. March 20, 1836. 

VIII. 

Thomas A. Allyn, who died in 1895, had three wives. His 
first wife, who died in 1862, left one son, Cyrus, who in A. D. 
1900 is in possession of a farm at AUyn's Point, which has been 
owned by nine succeeding generations of Allyns. The names of 
the owners, in the direct line of succession, is as follows : 

1. Robert, original grantee, who died in 1683. 

2. John, who died in 1709. 

3. Robert, who married Deborah Avery. 

4. Ebenezer, who married Mary Thurber. 

5. Thomas, who married Lucy Avery. 

6. Thomas, who married Susannah Morgan. 

7. Cyrus, who died in 1840. 

8. Thomas, who died in 1895. 

9. Cyrus, present owner in 1900. 



92 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

THE AVERY FAMILY. 

The Averys of Ledyard and neighboring towns are de- 
scendants of James Avery, who was born in England about 1620, 
and who, with his father Christopher, came to this country with 
Gov. Winthrop's Company in 1630. They lived at first in Bos- 
ton or Salem, afterwards in Gloucester. About 1650, James, 
with his wife, who was Joanna Greenslade, of Boston, and his 
three oldest children, moved to New London. They constituted 
a portion of quite a party from Cape Ann, including Rev. Richard 
Blimnan, the pastor of the church in Gloucester, who became 
the first pastor of the First Church in New London. 

James Avery built the famous "Avery Hive" on Poquonnoc 
Plain in 1656, and moved thither with his family. In 1684 the 
church edifice in New London, being no longer large enough to 
accommodate the congregation, was sold to James Avery. He 
took it down, moved the materials to Poquonnoc, and with them 
made a large addition to his house. The house, thus enlarged, 
was occupied by him and his family, and also by a regular line 
of his descendants from generation to generation, till it was set 
on fire by a spark from a passing locomotive on the railroad, 
July 20, 1894, and burned tO' the ground. A bronze statue of 
James Avery, mounted upon a column of Scotch granite, now 
marks the spot where it stood. 

In their earlier generations in this country the Avery families 
were very large — from ten to fifteen children generally in each 
of them. While a goodly number, bearing the name, still reside 
within a few miles of the spot where the old Hive stood, others 
have scattered off in all directions ; and Groton Averys, or their 
descendants, may be found in almost every town in New London 
County and every State of New England ; also in New York, 
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wiscon- 
sin, Nebraska, North Carolina, Louisiana, Oregon, California 
and O'ther States and Territories. 

The majority of them have been farmers with moderate 
means and limited aspirations. Some, however, have become the 
owners of large farms, and been withal very enterprising and 
progressive. John J. Avery (1776-18 — ), of Groton, had a well- 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOCxiES. 93 

tilled farm of 700 acres, covering the ground now occupied by 
that charming summer resort, Eastern Point. Robert Stanton 
Averv (1771-1846), of Preston, had a farm of 250 acres, which 
included a large part of Avery's Plains, so-called. He was the 
first man in Preston to own a wagon, and the first to use a cast- 
iron plow ; the first to introduce into his neighborhood Merino 
sheep from Spain and blooded stock from England. Dwight 
Avery (1828 ), of Norwich Town, is an extensive market- 
gardener, running his spacious greenhouses with their ap- 
pendages in connection with a large milk farm. One of the 
manv vvho have gone West, and become farmers on a much 
broader scale than any who have settled down in the Nutmeg 
State, is Phineas O. Avery (1838 — ■ — ). After enlisting in the 
Fourth Illinois Cavalry and serving his country over three years 
in the Civil War, he settled in Humbolt, Nebraska ; and in 1866 
owned 800 acres of fine farming land, all under cultivation, 300 
head of Hereford cattle and 30 horses. 

Several Averys,.of the Groton stock, have developed a good 
deal of mechanical skill ; and some of this class have acquired 
distinction as inventors. This is true of John Avery, Jr. 
(1732- 1 794), of Preston, a self-taught silver-smith and clock- 
maker; of Samuel Avery (1760-1836), of Preston, inventor of a 
nail-cutting machine; of Otis Avery (1808, living in 1889), of 
Honesdale, Pa., who was one of the first to receive a patent for 
a sewing machine — a patent which was taken out not only in 
this country, but also in England and France. To his inventive 
talent, Mr. Otis Avery added that of a legislator, and that also 
of a judge, and was called to fill these offices as long as he was 
willing to hold them. 

Some of the Groton Averys have proved themselves capable 
of managing large business concerns, and have acquired fortunes 
in doing it. Benjamin Franklin Avery (1801-1885). of Central 
New York, was a man of this sort. For many years he was en- 
gaged in the manufacture and sale of plows on a grand scale. 
His plows were of such superior quality that they commanded 
a ready sale wherever they were thrown upon the market. Abra- 
ham Avery (1824- 1893), of Boston, is another good example. 



94 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

He was a printer by trade, and for many years was a member of 
the firm of Rand & Avery, whose pubHcations, including "Uncle 
Tom's Cabin," went — thousands upon thousands — into every 
land where the English language is spoken. 

A pretty fair percentage of the family have been liberally 
educated, and have entered the learned professions. Nineteen 
have been graduated from Yale University ; a dozen or more 
from Harvard ; and enough from Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth, 
Middlebury and Brown to make out between forty and fifty 
from these New England Colleges. And a good many more 
have been graduated from colleges outside of New England. 

Some of the men who have attained to a good degree of suc- 
cess in the professions may be fittingly named here. In the 
medical profession, Christopher Swan Avery (1788-1862), who 
served as an army surgeon in the War of 1812-15, and afterward 
settled in Windham, Conn. Amos Geer Avery (1822- 1898), who 
after much valuable service in the War of 1861-5, settled in Iowa, 
afterward in New York. George Whitfield Avery (1836-1893), 
who performed very extensive and valuable services as a surgeon 
in the army during the Civil War — afterward built up a large 
practice in Hartford, Conn., and was stricken down in the midst 

of eminent usefulness. Edward Woodbridge Avery (1841 ), 

who, as a surgeon, held important positions in the Army and 
Navy of the United States, also in the German Army during the 
Franco-Prussian War, and afterward settled down to practice 
in Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Of Grot on Avery s, who have attained to eminence in the legal 
profession, the following may be named : Edward Avery 
(1790- 1 866), who, after several years of legal practice, became 
Judge of the Supreme Court, Wooster, Ohio. Daniel Dudley 
Avery (1810-1879), a lawyer and judge in Baton Rouge, La. 
Edward Avery (1828-1898), lawyer and statesman, Boston, Mass. 

A very large number of the Averys have been clergymen. 
Among them are the following: Parke Avery (1710-1797), 
pastor of the Separate Church in Groton, Conn. Nathan Avery 
(1712-1780), pastor of the Separate Church in North Stonington. 
Christopher Avery (i 737-1819), pastor of the Separate Church 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 95 

in North Stonington. David Avery (i 746-1818), a cliaplain in 
the army of the Revohition, and pastor of Congregational 
Churches in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
David Avery (1801-1875), pastor of Baptist Churches in Moodus, 
Ashford and other places in Connecticut. Charles Eldridge Avery 
(1794-1854), pastor of Congregational Churches in the State of 
New York. Jared Reid Avery (1804- 1885), pastor of Congre- 
gational Churches in Groton and Franklin, Conn. John Thomas 
Avery (1810 ), evangelist in Cleveland, Ohio, and neighbor- 
ing places. William Pitt Avery (1816-1885), pastor of Congrega- 
tional Churches in Bozrah, Conn., and Chapin, Iowa. Frederick 
Denison Avery (181 8 — ■ — ), pastor of Congregational Church in 
Columbia, Conn. John Avery (1819 ), pastor of Congrega- 
tional Churches in Lebanon, Central Village and Ledyard, Conn. 

George Porter Avery (1852 ), pastor of Methodist Churches 

in New York and Minnesota. 

Of the educated men, who have not entered either of the three 
learned professions, some have performed very valuable services. 
The following may be named as representatives of this class : 
Prof. Charles Avery, LL. D. (1795-1883). His life was given 
to teaching — 35 years of it as Professor of Chemistry and 
Natural Philosophy in Hamilton College, N. Y., his alma mater. 
Through his instrumentality large endowments were secured for 
various departments of the institution. Elroy McKendree 

Avery, Ph. D. (.1844 ), of Cleveland, Ohio, is the historian of 

the family. He made a good military record in the War of 
'61-5; and has since been largely engaged in teaching. He has 
written quite a number of educational works — some of which 
have obtained wide circulation. Robert Stanton Avery, Jr. 
(1808-1894), of Washington, D. C, was for many years con- 
nected with the United States Coast Survey, and for over 20 years 
the head of its Tidal Department. He wrote several treatises on 
phonographic, mathematical and scientific subjects. He pub- 
lished several of these works in his lifetime, and a short time 
previous to his death arranged for the publication of others by 
the Smithsonian Institute bequeathing the greater part of his 
estate to the Institute for this purpose. 



g6 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

The Averys have participated more or less largely in the 
wars in which the coiintry has been involved. James Avery him- 
self was a prominent leader in the conflicts with the hostile 
Indian tribes. In the spring of 1676, during the war known 
as King Philip's War, the Connecticut authorities gave him 
command of a company oi English from New London, 
Stoinington and Lyme with as many Pequots as he should deem 
necessary, and sent him into the Narragansett country. His 
third son, John, was also' in the company. His great-grandsons 
and great-great-grandsons fought heroically in the Revolution, 
and nine of their number fell in Fort Griswold. In the War of 
1812-15, a large number of his descendants, in the. sixth and 
seventh generations, were called out for the defense of New Lon- 
don, Stonington and other places against British invasion. In 
the Civil War, 1861-5, many took an active part; and several for 
their valor in action were highly honored. They became captains 
and majors and colonels ; and one at least, Robert Avery, having 
been engaged in many battles and several times severely wound- 
ed, was breveted a brigadier and then major-general of United 
States Volunteers. 

In civil affairs the Averys have from the first taken an active 
part. The founder of the family held almost every honorable 
position to which he was eligible ; and in some of the offices to 
which he was elected he was retained for many years. Many of 
his descendants have been in like manner honored. Hon. 
Richard A. Wheeler, in 1872, published an article in a Mystic 
newspaper, in which he gave the names of all the men who had 
represented the town oi Groton in the General Assembly of 
Connecticut, between the years 1704 and 1871, inclusive. The 
whole number was 545. He closed the article with these words : 
"It is worthy of note that of these 545 Representatives, 104 were 
Averys — all of them descendants oi Capt. James Avery. Glory 
enough for one man in one town." 

Some of the Averys have been elevated to high positions in 
the national government. Daniel Avery (1766- 1842), whose 
father fell in Fort Griswold when he was fifteen years old, settled 
in Central New York, and represented his Congressional Dis- 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 97 

trict in three different Congresses. William Thomas Avery 
(1819-1880), was elected a member of Congress in Tennessee in 
1857 and again in 1859. 

Quite frequently some of the side shoots from the parent 
stalk have yielded fruit not at all inferior to that borne by the 
principal branches. In other words, the descendants of the 
daughters of the Averys as well as the descendants of the 
sons, have become widely known and been highly honored. 
Temperance Avery, daughter of Capt. Christopher Avery, of 
Avery Hill, in Ledyard, married William Morgan, and became 
the grandmother of Hon. Edwin D. jMorgan, governor of the 
State of New York. Lucy Avery, second daughter of Col. 
Ebenezer, of Groton, married George Colfax, and became the 
great-grandmother of Hon. Schuyler Colfax, who was a member 
of Congress fourteen years in succession — Speaker of the House 
of Representatives through three successive Congresses, and 
Mce-President of the Cnited States during the first term of 
President U. S. Grant. Lucy Avery, a descendant of Jarnes, 
1st, through his son, Samuel, and his grandson, Humphrey (who 
lived and died at Poquetanuck), married Godfrey Rockefeller, 
and is the mother of John D. Rockefeller, the famous millionaire. 

The Averys, like most of the people who came from England 
with them were Puritans, who left the mother country that they 
might find upon these Western shores "freedom to worship God." 
The religious element in their character was a predominant one. 
And it has given clear evidence of its presence in each of their 
successive generations from the first settlement of the country 
to the present time. They have been firm believers in the Chris- 
tian religion and earnest defenders of it, even when it cost much 
to do it. Especially has it been true of them that they have ac- 
cepted and acted upon the great moral principles wdiich con- 
stitute such an important element of the religion of Christ. 
]\Iost of them, doubtless, have received and profited by family 
training much like that which one of their number administered 
in his household— the substance of which was reiterated again 
and again in his parental instruction : "My children, don't you 
ever allow yourselves, under any circumstances whatever, to do 
a mean thing." 



(jS, HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

THE AVER FAMILY. 

John Ayer, of Haverhill, settled in Stonington in the latter 
]>art of the seventeenth century. 

His homestead farm was north of "Lantern Hill," and ad- 
joining the town of Groton. His son, John, born in i68y, mar- 
ried Sarah Colt, and later, settled in Saybrook, as the marriages 
of several of his children are recorded there. 

John, Jr., died in 1760, leaving seven children, one of whom, 
Joseph, married Thankful Drake, and settled in Stonington. His 
father, John, gave him 150 acres of land in 1743 and he afterward 
added to it by purchase, until he had a tract of between four and 
five hundred acres in Stonington, Groton and Preston. Joseph's 
brother Joim married Abigail Cook and settled on what was 
formerly his grandfather's homestead farm. 

Joseph died in 1814, leaving to his son, Joseph, his lands in 
Stonington, and to his son, Elisha, his lands in Groton and Pres- 
ton. Elisha died in 1853, ^"*^ ^'^^^ farm descended to his son 
George. 

It is still in the possession oi his descendants. 

Dr. James C. Ayer was born in Ledyard (North Groton), 
May 5, 1819. He was the son of Frederick and Persis (Cook) 
Ayer. He married Josephine M. Soiithwick, of Lowell. They 
had two' sons and one daughter.. Dr. Ayer died July 2, 1878. 
Dr. Ayer was an enterprising and bright man. He early went 
to Lowell, where he served as clerk in a drug store, of which 
later on he became the owner, and then prepared patent medi- 
cines that afterwards had an extensive sale, and made him famous 
and wealthy. His son, Frederick Ayer, succeeded to the large 
business established by his father and is a prominent citizen of 
Lowell, Mass. 

THE BELLOWS FAMILY. 

Nathaniel Pellows lived 011 the farm in Ledyard now owned 
by Samuel Caswell. He was born in Groton in 1757. He 
served in the Revolutionary War as private in Capt. Amos Stan- 
ton's Company, of Groton, from March 19, 1777, to March, 1780. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 99 

He married Sarah Smith, daughter of Lieut. Xehemiah and 
Abigail (Avery) Smith. He died Jan. 24, 1814. 

His wife died March lO, 1827, and both are buried on their 
farm. 

They had one child, Elizabeth, born Aug. 16, 1794. She 
married Frederick Avery and removed West. 

Nathaniel was descended from John Bellows, who- came from 
England in the ship "Hopewell" in 1635, at the age of twelve. 
He married May 9, 1655, Mary Wood, of Marlborough, and 
settled in Concord, Mass. 

Their ninth child, Nathaniel Uellows, was born in Concord, 
April 3, 1676, and removed to Groton, Conn., where land was 
granted to him by the town, Feb. 2"], 1699. He married Nov. 
15, 1704, Dorcas Rose, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Allyn) 
Rose, of New London. Groton land records show numerous 
purchases of land by him as late as Dec. 25, 1732. 

In 1736, Nathaniel and his wife Dorcas, joined in a deed to 
their son, Ithamar. The last mention of his name in Groton 
records occurs Feb. 22, 1759, ^vhen the bonds were recorded be- 
tween himself and his grandson, John Bellows. Their chil- 
dren were 

John Bellows, born Sept. 13, 1705. 

Danuris Bellows, born Sept. 17, 1707. 

Zerviah Bellows, born Oct. 30, 1709. 

Johanah Bellows, born March 24, 171 1. 

Ithamar Bellows, born Feb. 24, 1713, died Oct. 24, 1777. 

Margaret Bellows, born Jan. 5, 1718. 

Dorcas and Hannah Bellows (twins), born Oct. 18, 1722. 

Dorcas married Israel Standish, of Preston. 

The eldest son above, John Bellows, born Sept. 13, 1705, mar- 
ried Mary . They had a son, John Bellows, born Feb. 

29, 1727, and died Sept. 16, 1793. He married Elizabeth Will- 
iams, who was bom Sept. 18, 1733, and died May 11, 1803. 

They were the parents of Nathaniel, the subject of this sketch. 

John Bellows, of Groton, is mentioned in the Colonial records 
of Connecticut, as collector of the Colony tax in the town in 
1763. 

L.ofC. 



100 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Lucretia Bellows, daughter of John and Elizabeth Bellows, 
born Sept. 2, 1763, married Jan. i, 1784, Daniel Stoddard, who 
was born Nov. 6, 1761. They had eight children — Lucretia, 
Daniel, Lucy, Phebe, Clarissa, Maria, Sidney and Edward. 

Another daughter of John and Elizabeth Bellows, Cynthia 
Bellows, born April 12, 1771, married Shubael Morgan, and had 
eleven children. 

Ithamar Bellows, who- was born Feb. 24, 1713. married Dor- 
cas , born 1728, died July 22, 181 1. Their children were 

Thomas Bellows, born May 2, 1755. 

Hannah Bellows, born Dec. 6, 1756. 

David Bellows, born May 8, 1760. 

Asa Bellows, born June 15, 1762. 

Anna Bellows, born July 7, 1764, married Richard Bushnell 
of Norwich. 

Ephraim Bellows, born July 14, 1766. 

Lydia Bellows, born May 14, 1767; married. 

Asa Bellows, born June 15, 1762, married Lydia Kellum, 
daughter of Capt. Samuel and Thankful Rose Kellum. They had 
five children — Thomas, Lucy, David, Lydia, Laura. 

Some of the above named persons are buried in the old 
churchyard near the Bill parsonage. [E. G.] 

THE BILLINGS FAMILY. 

The family from which the Billingses of Ledyard and neigh- 
boring towns are descended, settled first in Eastern Massachu- 
setts, later in New London, and later still in Stonington. 

The earliest immigrant to this country was William Billings, 
who located in Dorchester, Mass., in 1654, and was married to 
Mary in 1658. They had several children, among them Will- 
iam, Joseph and Lydia. It is uncertain whether these children 
were born in Massachusetts or Connecticut. 

Their son, Ebenezer Billings, of the second generation, was 
born in 1659. He settled in Stonington and became an influen- 
tial man in that town, frequently holding office as a magistrate. 
Large grants of land were made to him, lying chiefly in what is 
now Nortii Stonington. He was married in 1680 to Ann Com- 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. lOI 

stock. Their children were Ann, Ebenezer, James, Zipporah, 
Margaret, Jemima and Increase. 

Their son, Increase Bilhngs, of the tiiird generation, was 
born in 1697. Like his father before him he was prominent in 
miHtary and civil afifairs. He was married in 1720 to Hannah 
Hewitt. Their children were Andrew, Stephen, Increase, Abi- 
gail, Lucy, Tabitha, Jemima, Sophia and Jaheel. After the 
death of Mrs. B. in 1751, Mr. B. was married to Sarah Perkins, 
widow of Robert Stoddard. 

Stephen Billings, son of Increase B. and Hannah Hewitt, of 
the fourth generation, was born in 1723. He resided in North 
Groton (Ledyard). He was married in 1746 to Bridget Grant. 
By her he had six children. Mrs. B. and her infant child died 
in 1762; and Mr. B. was married to Mary Avery, widow of 
Youngs Ledyard. Three children were the fruit of this marriage. 
This second wife died in 1787; and Mr. B. was married the third 
time to Martha Denison. She died in 1808, and he, in 1814. 

Stephen Billings, 2d. son of Stephen B. and Bridget Grant, 
of the fifth generation, was born in 1750. He entered the Army 
of the Revolution as a sergeant in 1775. participated in the battle 
of Bunker Hill, served through the entire war, and was honorably 
discharged at the close of it, holding the office of captain at the 
time. He was married, in 1774. to Cynthia Hewitt. By her he 
had four sons and one daughter. She died in 1786, aged 28. 
In 1787 he was married to Anna Raymond, by whom he had four 
daughters and one son — also a child that died in infancy. 

Stephen Billings, 3rd, of the sixth generation, son of Stephen 
B., 2nd, and Cynthia Hewitt, was born in 1781. He resided in 
North Groton (Ledyard). He was a captain in the War of 
1812-15; and later was colonel of militia. He was married, in 
1809, to Martha Allyn. Their children were Cynthia. Hannah, 
Adelia, Anna, Patty or Martha, Stephen, James Allyn, Henrietta. 

James Allyn Billings, of the seventh generation, son of 
Stephen B., 3rd, and Martha Allyn, was born in 1821. (See 
biographical sketch of him). He was married, in 1852, to Mar- 
garet J. Allyn. Their children were Martha, Mary J., Stephen 
A., and Anna E. 



I02 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LED YARD. 



THE BILL FAMILY. 

The name is one of the oldest in English annals. Members 
o{ this family lived in the Counties Kent, Shropshire, Stafford- 
shire, Yorkshire and in Wales ; likewise in London, Birmingham 
and Manchester. At the present time there are about as many 
persons living in England bearing the name as in this country. 
The first of whom we have a full and authentic account is 
one Dr. Thomas Bill, who' was born about 1490, though the 
name has been traced back tO' the year 1300 when surnames first 
came into general use. This Dr. Thomas was a physician. He 
was in attendance at oiie time during an illness oi Princess 
Elizaljclh in 1549. Pie achieved the distinction of a B. A. in 
1524; in 1548 he received the degree of M. A. He travelled for 
several years on the Continent, and attended medical lectures 
and received the degree of M. D. from the celebrated university 
founded by Emperor Charlemagne at Pavia, Italy. 

He was physician to Henry VIII. and Edward VI ; from the 
latter he received a grant of £ 100 per annum. He died 1551. 
William liill. LL. D., a brother, born al)Out 1505, was edu- 
cated at St. John's 
College under Sir 
John Chekes, who 
later gave him a let- 
ter of introduction 
to Queen Anne 
lioleyn, wherein he 
spoke of him as a 
"learned and holiest 
man, plentifully en- 
dowed with knowl- 
edge and of exem- 
plary morals." He 
received several de- 
grees from said col- 
lege and later was, 
on recommendation 
of Lord Somerset, 




Jviov, Wibi.i.v.M bii.L, L>. D, 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. IO3 

elected master president of the college. In 1547 he received the 
degree of D. D., and became vice-chancellor of the University, 
1548-9. In 1 55 1 he was appointed master of Trinity College. 
After the accession of Qneen Mary, he was in disfavor on account 
of his protestantism, but when Queen Elizabeth came into power 
he was again in favor and preached the next Sunday after her 
accession, Nov. 20, 1558, at St. I'aul's Cross, and soon after was 
made the Queen's almoner and was, by command of the Queen, 
on June 30, 1560, installed as Dean of Westminster. He died 
on July 15, 1 561. and was buried on the 20th, in St. Benedict's 
Chapel in Westminster Abbey. No other person ever held, at 
the same time, the positions of master of Trinity, provost of 
Eton, and Dean of Westminster. (His tomb has been visited 
bv Frederic Bill, on different occasions, when in London.) 

Charles Bill, born in London about 1550, a son of the pre- 
ceding, was a celebrated Latin scholar and was made the suc- 
cessor of Sir Thomas Smith as Latin secretary to^ the King. 

John Bill, son of the above, was born in 1576, and appears in 
London, in 1613, as a "Publisher to His most excellent Majestic 
King James the ist." One of the earliest books, printed by him, 
was one by King James himself. A copy of this volume may 
be seen at the New York Society Library in University Place, 
New York City. From 1607 to 1700, the names of this John, 
and then that of his son, Charles, appear as publishers. They 
printed Bibles and ])rayer books for the use of churches, besides 
sermons and various miscellaneous work. The printing of the 
Bible was only allowed bv royal permission, and both John and 
Charles had that right for many years. As many as twelve 
different editions of the Bibles published by them, ranging from 
large folios to i8mO'S. in size, can, even now, be seen at the 
American Bible House on Fourth avenue in New York City. 
The writer likewise has several examples of their work. The 
first news sheet, as such, ever printed, was the ''English 
Mercuric,'^ and it is believed John Bill printed it. It is certain, 
however, that he printed the first "London Ga.':ctfc," in time of 
Charles II. 



I04 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

John Bill, son of above, came to America in 1633, followed 
by his children in 1635 on the "Hopewell," and settled in Salem 
or vicinity of Boston. His son, James, settled at what is now 
known as Winthrop, then called Pullen Point, and owned large 




Hon. Richard Bill. 

tracts of land there, and his next neighbor was Mr. Deane Win- 
throp, son of Gov. Winthrop, Sr. The old Ixiund made bv three 
walls in Winthrop, at one corner of his farm, was standing in 
1894, as was also the old house where one of his sons lived. 

Richard Pill was born in Boston, March 25, 1685, and was 
married on June 30, 1709, to Sarah Davis, daughter of Maj. 
Benj. Davis, His wife died April 24, 1727, aged 49 years. His 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 10$ 

second wife was Miss M. Minot. This Mr. Bill was a pros- 
perous merchant, doing business on Cornhill. near the post- 
office in Boston. He was a noted citizen of his day and genera- 
tion and widely known to all the people of the Bay Colony. He 
was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 
in 1707. In 1720 he was a lieutenant of the company, and later 
captain of one of the local military organizations. In 1714 he 
was a member of the Commission having to do with the Abenaki 
Indians who dw^elt partly in New Hampshire and partly in the 
Bay Colony. In 1741, and for several years prior thereto — five 
years in all — he was a member of the Colonial ( jovernor's Coun- 
cil and a warm friend and neighbor of John Hancock, James Otis, 
Paul Revere and Dr. Warren. His portrait, given here, is a copy 
from a painting by John Singleton Copley, a celebrated artist 
of those days. A duplicate of said painting, presented by Led- 
yard Bill in 1898 to the State, now hangs on the walls of the 
capitol in Boston. He was the owner of "Spectacle Island" in 
I'oston harbor and several houses in Boston. He gave his 
daughter, Elizal)eth, who married Joshua Henshaw, Junior, of 
Boston, a house on Sudbury Street, as a wedding present. He 
died in 1757. 

Philip Bill was living in Ipswich, where John Winthrop, Jr., 
had also lived l^efore going to' New London. Philip returned 
with Winthrop to occupy a portion of the grant of land which 
Winthrop had obtained from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
The latter held a Commission tO' begin a plantation which was 
bounded "Easterly from the Thames river four miles and North- 
erly from the sea six miles."* 

Passing rapidly, Joshua was the son of Philip, Phineas was 
the son of Joshua, and Joshua, 2d, was the soli of Phineas. This 
Joshua, 2d, was born 14th May, 1762. He was wounded at the 
battle of Groton Heights, and one Dr. Crary dressed his wounds. 
He received a pension from the Government, but not till many 
years after the battle. He died on 20th Dec, 1841. 

Gurdon Bill, Sr., the son of the above Joshua, was born in 
Groton (Ledyard), Jan. 18, 1784. He had few advantages in his 



"See Wheeler's History of Stonington, 



io6 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



n 



early life. He decided upon obtaining an Academic education, 
and to this end attended Plainfield Academy. Later he taught 
school seven successive winters and worked on a farm during the 
summers. He taught the first grammar school ever taught in 
Groton. While teaching school in Stonington he was called out 
as a "minute man" to do guard duty near the harbor. The 
British fleet lav off the town and made an attack. A boatload 





d>ey/z::i^^^^>9^ 



r6. 




of British soldiers gained the land and he, with others, who were 
sheltered by a stone wall near the shore opened fire whereupon 
the invaders took to their heels and to the boat and rowed back 
to the fleet, but in their haste to get safely away they dropped 
several guns and accoutrements ; one of the guns captured he 
had as a trophy and it is still kept in the family as a souvenir of 
that affair in the War of 1812. He, however, was never mustered 
into the government service and did duty only during the at- 
tack on Stonington. He was engaged for a time in the whole- 
sale fish trade at the old "Fly Market" in New York City. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. IO7 

Leaving there he returned to Groton and entered the mercantile 
business in the store which now stands opposite the "parsonage." 
This business he conducted successfully for a number of years. 
In those days the spinning of cotton yarn for the mills at Jewett 
City, engaged the attention of many families, and he procured 
every two weeks from those factories a supply which was dis- 
tributed among the people in North Groton for spinning. Tliis 
product he returned to the mills regularly and this grew to quite 
a large business in itself. He finally bought a part of twO' farms 
lying adjacent to his store, one of which was the old Bishop 
Seabury place. This Seabury house, now destroyed, was the first 
parsonage in America. The house on the other place nearest 
the store, he had remodelled for his own use and at considerable 
cost for those days. He employed Isaac Gallup to do the work. 
In the second story he had made a large hall for the accommoda- 
tion of the Masonic Lodge, of which he was the master, and 
which since has served as a place for lectures, meetings, dancing, 
and in later years as a place where the trustees of the Bill Library 
have held their annual dinners. The Lo'dge was moved to Mystic 
Bridge. 

He married in Aug., 1821, Miss Lucy Yerrington, of Preston, 
Conn. 

He represented Groton in the General x\ssembly of 1828. He 
was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Univer- 
salist Church of Norwich, Conn., of which church he, in 1820, 
with David Tracy, H. K. Park and Paul Harvey, was among the 
founders. He died Sept. 10, 1856, and was buried in the 
family lot in Ledyard, with Masonic honors by members of 
Norwich fraternity. The lodge for which he had built a home 
was later located in the lower village of Mystic where it now 
flourishes. He left a large family of children, three of whom 
died early and eight arrived at maturity. Two daughters, Eliza 
and Harriet, died at the ages of 16 and 18, respectively. The 
others were : — 

Edward M. Bill, the oldest son, born April, 1822. He learned 
the carpenter's trade and for a while was located in Norwich and 
then travelled West, wliere he married and settled in Iowa, rais- 



I08 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

ing a family. He was a member of the Iowa Senate for four 
years, their terms of ofilice being two years. He was also super- 
intendent of schools of Munroe County for several years. He 
died in 1886. 

Henry Bill — See biog-raphical sketches. 

Gurdon Bill, Jr., was born June 7, 1827, and remained on 
the farm until the age of eighteen, after which he engaged in the 
sale of books for several years, travelling in many of the Western 
States, also in New England and the British Provinces. He then 
engaged with his brother Henry in the publishing business. In 
the year 1855 he removed tO' Springfield, Mass., and entered the 
publishing business on his own account, and continued success- 
fully in that line until the year 1868 when he sold out to his 
brother Charles. Later on he became interested in the paper, 
envelope and other manufacturing enterprises. In 1871 he rep- 
resented Springfield in the General Court, and in 1885 became 
the president of the Springfield and New London Railroad Co., 
and vice-president of the Connecticut Valley Railroad, until the 
latter road was sold to the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co. For 
several years he was the president of the Second National Bank 
of Springfield; in 1900 he resigned. 

He gave to the City of Springfield the soldiers' monument 
located on Court Square in said city. By economy and business 
sagacity, Mr. Bill has gathered an ample fortune. He married 
May 12, 1853. Emily A. Denison, daughter of Nathan Fish 
Denison, of Groton. Slie died Feb. 17, 1879. They had chil- 
dren : — 

Nathan D., b. Oct. 12, 1855, m. Ruth Wight, and lives in 
Springfield, Mass. 

Harriet E., b. Aug. 21, 1857, rn. George D. Button, and lives 
in Pittsfield, Mass. 

Mary A., b. Sept. 15, 1859, m. E. Howard Beach. She died 
Jan. 24, 1889. 

Edward E., b. P^eb 22, 1862, single, and lives in Springfield, 
Mass. 

Charles G., b. Feb. 13, 1870, m, Susan P. Marsh, and lives in 
Unionville, Conn, 




GURDON BILL, ESQ. 



FAMILY HISTORfES AND GENEALOGIES. IP9 

PYederic Bill was born in 1833. His early life was spent 
upon the home farm. He was educated in the public schools, 
Roberts' Academy at Poquetanuck and Sufifield Literary Insti- 
tute. He afterwards taught school in the "Lester" district in the 
western part of the town. Though successful as a teacher, he 
chose a more active life, and travelled in the British Provinces, 
visiting Canada, New Brunswick", Nova Scotia and Prince Ed- 
ward's Island, subsequently spending a considerable time in the 
South and West in the sale of books. In 1856 he engaged in 
the publishing business in Springfield, Mass., in connection with 
his brother Gurdon, who was already established there. In 1858 
he spent a winter in Cuba, and in the spring of the same year, 
married Lucy G, Dennison, daughter of Nathan F. Dennisoii, of 
Mystic, Conn. At the beginning of the Civil War he disposed 
of his interest in the publishing business. In 1865 he became 
interested in the importation and manufacture of linen goods 
imder the firm name of Tracy & Bill, with a place of business 
on Franklin street. New York City. Aiter a few years he bought 
out his partner and continued the business aloiie, until 1873, 
when he disposed of his entire interest and retired from com- 
mercial life. Soon afterward he made a tour of Europe with 
his wife, spending a year abroad. Since 1872 he has resided in 
Groton, Conn., near the mO'Uth of the river Thames. His wife 
died in April, 1894. In August, 1895, he married Julia O. Avery, 
daughter of E. D. Avery, of Groton, immediately going abroad, 
visiting many countries on the continent, including Norway, 
Sweden and Spain, extending his tour to the far East and the 
river Nile. In 1888 he presented to the village of Groton a 
library in memory of his deceased sisters, which was incor- 
porated under the title of the Bill Memorial Library, and in 1890 
erected a granite library building at a cost, including grounds, 
etc., of nearly twenty thousand dollars, which he also- presented 
to the trustees of the library. Subsequently, he gave the board 
of trustees ten thousand dollars as an endowment fund. He is a 
director in the Chelsea Savings Bank, of Norwich, and in other 
institutions. He has always declined political preferment. 



no HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Ledyard Bill, born in 1836. He was broitght up on the farm 
with one season's "working out" for Isaac Avery "thrown in." 
It was the rule of his father that his boys should have a taste of 
going away from home to work. It was and is a wholesome rule 
in the case of boys. He attended school at Norwich and 
Suffield Academy for a brief period, and then naturally drifted 
into the business of travelling and selling books. This was fol- 
lowed for a number of years in about all portions of the country. 
Finally he was encouraged to settle in Loilisville, Ky., with a 
branch publishing office at that place. He remained there till 
the Civil War broke out, but, before leaving, he with several other 
Union men in that city, established the first Union League Club 
in this country, in time of that war. This society flourished, and 
saved that border state, it was believed, from secession. Later 
he removed tO' New York City where he opened an office at 
10 Spruce street, and afterwards, at 75 Fulton street, and con- 
tinued publishing. He was married in June, 1872, to Miss 
Sophia Earle, in Brooiklyn, N. Y. Subsequently, he gave up 
business and removed tO' Paxton, Mass., where he still resides. 

Mr. Bill has been for about twenty years chairman of the se- 
lectmen and chairman of the school board, saying nothing of the 
other local offices held, temporarily filled, such as town treasurer, 
town clerk, and overseer of the poor. In 1891 he represented his 
district, comprising five towns, in the General Court at Boston, 
and was the chairman of the committee on agriculture, and 
also a member of that on printing. In 1894 he was chosen to 
the Senate as a Republican in a previously strong Democratic 
district. This district comprised 19 towns — three of which, 
Webster, Southbridge and Spencer, are large manufacturing 
towns and nearly eligible to promotion as cities. He led every 
person associated with him on the ticket and redeemed the dis- 
trict. In the Senate he was the chairman on engrossed bills, 
member of the committee on education, chairman of roads and 
bridges, a member of committee on agriculture, and sundry other 
special committees. In 1895 he was re-elected from the Fourth 
Worcester County district tO' the State Senate at Boston, without 
difficulty. He defeated the "Salary Grab" measure in the House 




LEDYARD BILL. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. Ill 

in 1891, thereby saving- to the State over $70,000.00 per year, also 
defeated the sportsmen's game law and caused tO' be enacted the 
oleomargerin act. In 1894, in the Senate, as chairman of the 
committee on roads and bridges of the State, he advocated "good 
roads," and secured, after a hard and prolonged contest, an ap- 
propriation of $200,000., being the first dollar ever granted in the 
United States by any State Legislature for State roads, pure 
and simple. In 1895 he advocated a larger sum, which was given, 
viz., $300,000. It has now become the policy of the State and 
to date, something over two millions have been appropriated and 
over two hundred miles have been constructed at an average 
cost of about ten thousand dollars per mile for a macadam higfh- 
way. Other states have fallen into line and, eventually, this 
country will have line carriage roads. Mr. Bill defeated the 
tuberculin act which was about to- sweep the State before much 
was known as to its merits. Instead of being mandatory the 
statute is now permissive. Mr. Bill has been mentioned of late 
years as a possible candidate for Congress. He is a member of 
the Society of American Authors of New York ; a corresponding 
member of New England Historic-Genealogical Society, of Bos- 
ton ; an honorary member of the Wisconsin Historical Society ; a 
member of the corporation of the Mechanics Savings Bank, of 
Worcester, Mass. ; chairman of the Third Congressioinal District 
Republican Committee ; a member of the Republican State 
Committee, declining further service ; vice-president of the Wor- 
cester County Agricultural Society, when in its most flourishing 
condition ; was on the co^mmittee to dispose of its fair grounds, 
oljtaining $185,000.00 for the same ; president of the Oraskaso 
Historical Society of Worcester County, Massachusetts, for sev- 
eral years ; a member of the Patriotic Order ol the Sons of the 
American Revolution of Massachusetts ; a member of the Wor- 
cester County Horticultural Society, also^ of the Fruit Growers' 
Association of Massachusetts, and original projector and member 
of the Bay State Agricultural Society ; gave the soldiers' monu- 
ment, now standing in his native town, to the town 011 July 4, 
1873; was instrumental in establishing the free public library in 
his adopted town in Massachusetts. 



112 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



He has written several volumes, namely : One on Florida, 
also one on Minnesota, one on the town of Paxton, Mass., and 
compiled a volume on the Civil War, and a genealog-y of the 
Bill family in this country. 

Charles Bill, Ph. B., the youngest of the children of Gurdon 
Bill, Sr., was born June 7th, 1840 and lived at home till 1856, 




Charles Bill, Ph. B. 



when he entered the State Normal School at New Britain, Conn., 
where he remained one year when he entered the Norwich Free 
Academy, at which school he continued till time of his gradua- 
tion in June, 1861. He was the valedictorian of his class. 'He 
entered Yale in the fall ol 1861, taking a scientific course, grad- 
uating in 1864, taking the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. 
He won at Yale three prize medals in the course of his studies. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. II3 

one for declamation, one for the best examination in the natural 
sciences and one as an essayist. He was later ofifered a profes- 
sorship in an educational institution in York State, but on ac- 
count of his health declined. He decided upon an outdoor 
occupation and commenced the sale of books by subscription ; 
finally locating- in Chicago, Illinois, at 132 South Clark street, 
having a general publishing agency. In 1868 he succeeded his 
brother, Gurdon, in the publishing business in Springfield, 
Massachusetts, under the firm name of Bill, Nichols & Company. 
In 1869-70, he. in connection with his brother, last named, 
erected a large iron block on Main street, in said city. Soon 
after its completion he met with a serious accident, caused by a 
gas explosion in the building, which nearly cost him his life. It 
was a couple of years ere he recovered his usual health, mean- 
while he disposed of his business to his partners and set sail for 
Europe, spending a year and more abroad, visiting all portions 
of Europe and the Holy Land, including a voyage up the Nile. 
He returned in 1874, somewhat improved in health. He after- 
wards repeated in part his European tour. 

He was a member of the National Academy of Science ; also 
a member of the Yale Alumni Association of the Connecticut 
Valley ; was a member of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of 
the American Revolution ; and of the American Economic As- 
sociation ; also of the Science Association of Springfield ; and of 
the Winthrop and Nyassett Clubs of that city ; a member of the 
Apalachian Club of New England. He was fond of out-door life 
and was a well-known amateur ornithologist. He was a member 
of the South Congregational Church in Springfield, Mass. 
He made a trip in the winter of 1897 to Florida, and on his return 
was taken ill at Eithia Springs, Georgia, where he died after a 
brief illness on April 15, 1897. His public benefactions were 
many, chief of which were those to the church and library of his 
native town and six thousand dollars toi city hospital of 
Springfield, and seven thousand dollars to found a free scholar- 
ship in Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass. The place of his 
interment was in the family lot at the old homestead in his native 
town. 



114 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

THE BOLLES FAMILY. 

(By Amos Hurlbut). 

Robinson Bolles, oldest child of Amois and Abigail (Smith) 
Bolles, was born in New London County, Jan. 25, 1766. >When 
a small boy he went to live with his grandfather, James Smith. 
He was married Nov. 26, 1789, to Hannah Stoddard. They lived 
at Gale's Ferry, on the plot of ground now owned by Mr. Frank 
Brown. In 1810, Mr. and Mrs. Bolles, with nine children, moved 
to Rush, Susquehannah Co., Pa. They made the journey with 
their own team, drawn by horses, in twenty-one days, every one 
of which was rainy. .Some of the way their route was through 
a wilderness where there were no^ roads, and their course was 
indicated by marked trees. They located about eight miles from 
Montrose, the present county seat, near Wyalusing Creek. Deer 
were very plenty in the region ; and it was no uncommon thing 
to hear wolves howling about their cabin at night. Mr. Bolles 
established the first tannery in the region ; and it was patronized 
by the people for many miles around. His sons cleared away 
the forests ; and divided their time between hunting, fishing, 
trapping and farming. The miller, not far away, was generally 
glad tO' exchange meal and flour for the meat which they had to 
dispose of ; so' that their larder was always well supplied. Once 
every year — usually in the winter — they carried a load of meat, 
furs and leather to New York City. Mr. John A. Bolles, in 
"The Bolles' Genealogy," says: "In the spring of i860 I visited 
Fairdale and the vicinity, in which reside the children of Robin- 
son and Hannah (Stoddard) Bolles ; and a more vigorous and 
manly race I never saw. The men were farmers, all of them 
above the medium height — most of them upwards of six feet — and 
had never tasted ardent spirits or tobacco. I felt proud of this 
branch of our tribe." 

Mr. Bolles died at Rush, Pa., Jan. 28, 1842, aged ^(i. Mrs. 
B. died at Jessup, Pa., Nov. 20, 1852, aged 84. 

Their children were 

Hannah, b. Aug. 29, 1790, d. April 25, 1792. 
Simeon A., b. Oct. 13, 1792. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. II 5 

Maria, b. Sept. 26, 1794. 
Abel, b. Dec. 14, 1796. 
Nelson, b. May 25, 1799. 
Elkanah, b. April 28, 1801. 
Hannah, b. Sept. 9. 1803. 
John, b. Sept. 5, 1805. 
James S., b. July 28, 1807. 
Nancy L., b. May 17, 1809. 

Amy Bolles, second child of Amos and Abigail (Smith) Bolles, 
married Benjamin Bill May 9, 1791. They lived near the present 
residence of Mr. Moses Baily. They had two children — Fanny 
Bolles and Sarah. Mr. Bill was lost at sea in the month of 
January, 1795. ]\Irs. Bill was married in 1803, toi Jonathan 
Stoddard, by whom she had one child, Hester. With this daugh- 
ter, at the old homestead, Mrs. Bill spent the closing years of her 
life. She died Feb. 11, 1861, at the age of 93. 

THE BREWSTER FAMILY. 

The Brewsters of Ledyard and vicinity, also many bear- 
ing other names, such as Avery, Crary, Gallup, Morgan, Roach 
are descendants of Elder William Brewster, who was the spiritual 
leader of the Mayflower Pilgrims, who established the first per- 
manent settlement in New England, at Plymouth, Mass., in the 
year 1620. He and his associates in this enterprise were fugitives 
from religious persecution. They were originally from Scrooby 
and adjacent towns in the east part of England. They had 
spent a dozen vears in Holland before coming to America. But 
not finding in that country all that they desired they comcluded 
to try their fortunes in the new wodd. From the time that they 
left their homes in the father-land on for a good many years they 
experienced great privations and hardships, but at length suc- 
ceeded in establishing upon this continent a colony that has been 
instrumental of unspeakable good to our own land and to the 
world. 

Brewster was pre-eminently a leader, not only in spiritual, 
but temporal things in this exceedingly difficult undertaking. 



Il6 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Though a man of education and refinement, educated at Cam- 
bridge University, and originally possessed of a large estate, he 
freely consented to share with his fellow-pilgrims in the indigni- 
ties and penalties that were heaped upon them by tyranical op- 
pressors, as well as in the arduous labors and extreme sufferings 
necessarily incident to the planting of a colony 3,000 miles from 
home, across a stormy ocean, in an unsubdued wilderness and in 
the presence of vmtamed savages. Yet he had the happiness of 
seeing his labors crowned with success, and prospects opening be- 
fore him and his fellows of the most encouraging character. He 
was one of the Mayflower Pilgrims who' lived to see not a few 
of the fruits of their great self-denial and arduous toil. As he 
drew near the end of life in 1643-4, some of the accomplished re- 
sults which he had the pleasure of witnessing were : "A Chris- 
tian colony planted; the savage foe, to a large extent, appeased, 
conciliated, and, in several cases, encouragingly influenced by 
Christian instruction and example. From that o)ic poor settlement 
had others arisen, now numbering eight towns. Instead of one 
small church, he could behold eight Christian folds, with their 
pastors. In room of the small number of fifty souls, spared 
through the fi.rst season, were now eight thousand, with a con- 
stitution, established laws, and a government defined. Along 
with their churches, he had witnessed the establishment of 
schools, to be the glory of New England ; and not only these, but 
a college, and its graduating classes, showing their purpose, that 
freedom, education and religion should go hand in hand." 

(Steele's Life of William Brewster. Page 382). 

William Brewster was born about 1560, and died at his home 
in Duxbury in 1644, aged 84. His wife, Mary (Love?), died at 
Plymouth, where the family then resided, between 1623 and 1627. 

Their children : — 

1. Jonathan, b. at Scrool)y, m. (probably in Holland). 
Lucretia (Oldham), d. 1661 ; buried at Brewster's Neck, near 
Poquetanuck Cove. Mrs. B. d. 1671. 

2. Love, b. (probably in Holland), m. May 15, 1634, Sarah 
Collier; had four children; lived to 1650. 

3. Wrestling. The following things are probably true of him : 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. II7 

ni. 1630, Emla Story — settled in Portsmouth, N. H. — had a 
daughter b. ^lay 3, 1636, named Love Lucretia, d. in 1636, or 
soon after. 

4. P^ar, m. about 1625 Isaac Allerton ; had one son, Isaac; d. 
1632. 

5. Patience, m. 1629, Thomas Prince ; had three daughters ; d. 
1634. 

Jonathan Brewster, son of Elder William B. (1560- 1644), 
settled first in Duxbury, Mass., and became a leading man in 
the affairs of the town. About 1649 he moved to New London, 
and later to Brewster's Neck, where, on land purchased of 
Uncas, the chief of the Mohegans, he established a Trading 
Post. 

Children of Jonathan and Lucretia Brewster : — 

1. William, b., m. and settled in Duxbury. 

2. Mary, b. 1625, m. 1645, Jobn Turner, of Scituate. 

3. Benjamin, m. 1659, Ann Dart, of New London. 

4. Elizabeth, m. 1654, Peter Bradley, second, Christophers, of 
New London. 

5. Grace, m. 1659, Daniel Wetherell, of New London. 

6. Ruth. m. 1648, John Picket, of New London, second 
Charles Hill. 

Children of Benjamin and Ann (Dart) Brewster, who prob- 
ably resided at Brewster's Neck : — 

1. Ann, b. 1662. 

2. Jonathan, b. 1664. 

3. Daniel, b. 1667, m. 1686, Hannah Gager. 

4. William, b. 1669. 

5. Ruth. b. 1671. 

6. Benjamin, b. 1673. 

7. Elizabeth, b. 1676. 

Benjamin Brewster died 1710, aged "jy. 

Benjamin Brewster (1633-1710), who married Ann Dart, had 
a son Jonathan (b. 1664, m. Judith Stephens), who had a son 
Joseph (m. Dorothy Witter), who had a son Nathan, who had a 
son Nathan who was the father of the late Franklin Brewster, oi 
Ledvard. 



Il8 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Joseph Brewster, who married Dorothy Witter, had a son 
Jabez (1747-1802), who had a son John (1782-1848), who was 
the father of Hon. John Brewster, now (1900J hving in Ledyard. 

Children of Daniel (b. 1667) and Hannah (Gager) Brewster : — 

1. Hannah, b. 1690. 

2. Mary, b. 1692. 

3. John, b. 1695, m. 1725, Dorothy Treat, daughter of Rev. 
Salmon Treat. 

4. Jerusha, b. 1697, d. 1705. 

5. Ruth, b. 1 701. 

6. Bethia, b. 1702. 

7. Jonathan, b. 1705. 

8. Jerusha, b. 1710, d. 171 1. 

9. Ebenezer, b. 1713. 
Daniel Brewster died 1737. 

Children of John (b. 1695), and Dorothy (Treat) Brewster, 
who lived some two miles south-west of Preston City : — 

1. Oliver, b. 1726. 

2. Dorothy, b. 1727. 

3. Hannah, b. 1728, d. 1736. 

4. Daniel, b. 1731. 

5. Sarah, b. 1733. m. Moses Parke, of Preston. 

6. Sybil, b. 1735. 

7. John, b. 1737, d. 1752. 

8. Eunice, b. 1740, m. Oliver Crary. 

9. Levi, b. 1743, d. 1750. 

10. Asaph, b. 1746. 

Sarah Brev\'ster, daughter of John and Dorothy, who married 
Moses Parke, had a daughter Parthenia, who> married Stephen 
Morgan, of North Groton. This Stephen Morgan was the 
grandfather of Stephen Morgan, now resident in Ledyard. 

Eunice Brewster (1740-18 — ), daughter of John and Dorothy 
(Treat) Brewster, married Oliver Crary. Their children : — 
Oliver, m. Desire Ayer, had three soiis and one daughter. 
Elisha, m. Nabby Avery, had five sons and two daughters. 
Sarah, m. Robert S, Avery, had five sons and three daughters. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. IIQ 

Dorothy, m. Amos Avery, had four sons and four daughters. 
Nancy, second wife of Robert S. Avery, had no children. 

[E. G.] 

THE FANNING FAMILY. 

About the year 1635-40, Edmond Fanning arrived in Ameri- 
ca and took his place among the early pioneers ; he was fol- 
lowed by a son of the same, and he by a grandso-n bearing the 
Christian name of his grandfather. 

A son of the third Edmond had a son William, and he a son 
George. 

George Fanning was the first of this family settling in North 
Groton, near Lantern Hill, about 1770. He married Eunice 
Barnes. They had three children, viz. : Eunice, James (b. Aug. 
5, 1772) and Keturah. 

These children were left fatherless at an early age. The date 
of his death is not given on the head stone which marks his grave. 
His widow died Aug. 21, 1829. 

The son James was early in life bound to Caleb Tyler, of 
Preston, with whom he lived till the age of twenty-one, suffer- 
ing many hardships, as was sometimes wont to^ be the case under 
like circumstances. After leaving Mr. Tyler he learned the car- 
penter's trade and followed that occupation for a number of 
years. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Williams and located 
in Preston, where five children were born to them, viz. : George, 
James, Phebe, William, and Isaac. 

This family, later on, moved intO' North Groton (now Led- 
vard), and settled on a farm purchased of one Nathaniel Browai, 
his wife's grandfather, being the same place now occupied by 
Lyman A. Latham, about one mile and a half north-easterly from 
the Bill parsonage. On this farm he lived during the remainder of 
his life. He died quite suddenly on July 9, 1839, of heart disease. 

His son William was born Dec. 14, 1808, and was married 
July 21, 1836, to Mary Ann Gallup, of Ledyard. He remained 
on the old homestead and was an industrious farmer. In 1863 
he was chosen to represent the town in the General Assembly at 
Hartford. Later he moved to the William Williams farm, 



I20 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



located in the northerly part of Ledyard. This farm is noted 
as beint;- the birthplace of the notable Silas Deane, minister to 
France in the time of the Revolution. 

Mr. l^^anning died May i, 1880. of heart trouble. His son 
George Fanning, born Oct. 4, 1837, married Mary A. Spicer, 
daughter of Capt. Edmund Spicer, of Ledyard, April 16, 1862. 
They have several children, some of whom are married. Mr. 
h'annmg occupies tlic farm of his father and finds time to run a 
small store at Shewville, formerly known as "Ayer's Mills," and 
is the post-master at that place. For many years Mr. Fanning 
has taught sclnxil in his native town, and was a well-known and 

poi)ular teacher, and is a 
member of the school 
board of the town and 
served as acting school 
\-isitor and secretary for 
manv years of the board. 
In 1880 was chosen judge 
of probate for the town, 
serving continuouslv for 
ten years. Mr. Fanning is 
the president of l>ill Li- 
brary board of trustees. 
He is known as a very 
capable man, far above the 
average of men h O' 1 tl i n g 
positions of trust and in- 
fluence in like rural com- 
munities. The names of 
their children follow, viz. : 
Mary Uethiah, was l)orn March 19. 1863 and married July 
II, 1894, Walter A. Waterman, who was a graduate of Yale in 
class of 1894, and is now a teacher in the "Dwiglit" school. New 
York. They reside in Mt. Vernon, N. Y., and have four children, 
h'annie Elizabeth, born Nov. 24, 1864, and lives in Hartford. 
Susan Elida, born Sept. 21, 1866, married Christopher Allyn 
Brown, 2d, Sept. 21, 186C. They lived in Gale's Ferry. He 




Gkorge Fanning, Esq. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 



121 



was a merchant there and died Feb. 26, 1890, leaving a widow 
and two children. 

William Edmund, born June 27, 1870, was married to Ada 
Marie Moxley, of Norwich, May 24, 1893. They live in Hart- 
ford where he is the proprietor of a steam laundry. They have 
three children. 

Hattie Eunice, born Dec. 18, 1872, married William S. 
Thomas, March 10, 1898, and live in Groton, near Poquonock 
Bridge. [G. F.] 

THE GALLUP FAMILY. 

The first ancestor of the Gallup families, now residing in 
Ledyard, was John, who came to Boston from county Dorset, 
England, in 1630. He lived in Boston or vicinity, and died there 
in 1650. 

His son John came to New London, 1650, and settled upon 
land granted him in Stonington in 1654, which was named 
"Whitehall," and is midway between Old Mystic and Mystic. 
He was married, in 1643, to Hannah Lake, and was killed in the 
great swamp fight at Narragansett in 1675. 

Flis son Benadam married Esther Prentice and lived and died, 
in 1727, at "Whitehall." His son (Lieut.) Benadam, born 1693, 

married Eunice Cobb in 
1 716, was the first to settle 
in Groton (now Ledyard), 
upon a grant of land said 
to contain about 1,000 
acres. He at first lived in 
a log house, upon a part of 
the grant now owned by 
Joseph Albert Gallup, 
his gre'at-grandsoii ; about 
1730 he built the large and 
commodious house, now 
occupied by Augustus O. 
Ackley, which was long 
used as a tavern stand, it 
being on the old post-road 




The Gallup Homestead, 



122 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

commanding a fine view of the sound, Atlantic Ocean and Long 
Island. His son Benadam, born Oct., 1716, married Hannah 
Avery, 1740, and built, in 1751, the house now occupied by his 
great-grandson, Joseph Albert Gallup. Col. Nathan Gallup (son 
of Lieut. Benadam), born 1727, married Sarah Giddings, in 1749, 
and the same year built the house occupied by his grandson, 
Dwight Gallup, until it was demolished in 1876, and the present 
one built. These two farms, which contain about 400 acres, are 
all of the original grant, that is left in the Gallup name. There 
liave been many deacons among the descendants of Col. Bena- 
dam, but few ministers. Rev. James A. Gallup, of Madison (a 
great-grandson) , being, I think, the only one bearing the Gallup 
name. 

Rev. Salmon McCall was a great-grandson. The present 
-deacons of the Ledyard Congregational Church are descendants 
— Nathan S. Gallup, a great-grandson, and Isaac G. Geer and 
Russell Gallup great-great-grandsons. 

Gallup Land Grants. 
"A Session of the General Coitrt held at Hartford October 
I2th, 1671. 

"John Gallop is Granted a hundred Acres of Land, for his 
Service in the Pequott Warr, Provided he take it up where it 
may not prejudice any former Grant, Granted to any Plantation 
or Particular person. 

"A True Copy of Record, 

"Test George Wyllys Secretary." 

"Att a Session of the General Court held in Hartford Octo- 
ber loth, 1678 

"Upon the Petition of Mrs. Hannah Gallop and as a recom- 
pense for great loss She hath Sustained. 

"This Court dO see cause tO' Grant unto^ the said Mrs. Gallop 
aforesaid and her heirs, the Sum of Two^ hundred Acres of land, 
which she may Take up in Two places provided She do not 
take it up where it may prejudice any former grant to any parti- 
cular person or Plantation. 

"A True Copy of Record, 

"Test George Wvllvs Secretarv." 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I23 

In the colonial records at Hartford may be found the fol- 
lowing : 

"February 9, 1652-3, John Gallup, in consideration and with 
respect unto the services his father hath done for the country, 
hath given him up the river of Mistick, which side he will 300 
acres of upland. February 6, 1653-4, John Gallup, hath given 
him a further addition to his land at Mistick, 150 acres, which he 
accepts of and acknowledgeth himself satisfyde for what lands 
he formerly laide claim unto upon the general neck as a gift of 
his father's which as he saith was given to^ his father by General 
Stoughton after the Pequott War." 

Benadam Gallup's Military Commission Lieutenant. 

"Joseph Tallcott Esq ; Governor and Commander in Chief of 
His Majesties Colony of Connecticut in New England 

"To Benadam Gallop, Gent, Greeting You being by the Gen- 
eral Assembly of this Colony, Accepted to be Lieutenant of the 
2d Company or Trainband in the town of Groton, Reposing 
Special Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and 
good Conduct, I do' by Virtue ol the Letters Patents horn the 
Crown of England tO' this Corporation, We thereunto Enabling, 
Appoint and Impower Yoii to take the said Company intO' your 
Care and Charge, as Their Lieutenant Carefully and Diligently 
to Discharge that Trust ; Exercising your Inferior Officers, and 
Soldiers in the Use of their Arms, according to the Discipline of 
War ; Keeping them in good Order and Government, and Com- 
manding Them to Obey You as Their Lieutenant for His Ma- 
jesty's Service. 

"And you are tO' Observe all such Orders and Directions, as 
from Time to Time you shall Receive either from Me, or from 
other yoiir Superior Officer, pursuant to the Trust hereby Re- 
posed in you. Given under my hand and the Seal of this Colony, 
in Hartford the 29th Day ol May, In the Sixth Year of the 
Reign of Our Sovereign Lord GEORGE, the Second, KING 
of Great Britain &c. Annoque Domini, 1733. J. Tallcott, 

"By his Honours Command 
"Hez. W>llys Seer." 



124 history of the town of ledyard. 

Benadam Gallup's Military Commission Lieut.-Colonel 

"Jonathan Trumbull, Esquire, Captain-General, and Com- 
mander in Chief, of the State of Connecticut, in America. 

"To Benadam Gallop Esq ; Greeting You being by the Gen- 
eral Assembly of this State appointed tO' be Lieutenant-Colonel 
of a Regiment now ordered to be raised in this Colony, and to 
join the Continental Army, reposing especial Trust and Confi- 
dence in your Fidelity, Courage, and good Conduct, I do, by 
Virtue of the Laws of this State, We thereunto enabling, ap- 
point and impower you the said Benadam Gallop, to be Lieut 
Colonel you are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the 
duty of a Lieut Colonel in leading, ordering and exercising 
said Regiment in Arms, both inferior Officers and Soldiers, in 
the Service aforesaid, and tO' keep them in good Order and 
Discipline, hereby commanding them to obey you as their Lieut 
Colonel, and yourself to observe and follow such Orders and 
Instructions, as you shall from Time to Time receive from me, 
or the Commander in Chief of said State, for the Time being, 
or other your superior Ofihcer, according to the Rules and Dis- 
cipline of War, ordained and established by the Continental 
congress, pursuant to the Triist hereby reposed in you. 

"Given under my Hand, and the public Seal of said State, at 
Hartford the 2nd Day of December Anno Domini 1776. 

"Jonth Trumbull. 

"By His Honor's Command 
"George Wyllys Sect." 

Isaac Gallup's Military Commission Lieutenant. 
IN CONGRESS 

"The Delegates of the United Colonies of New-Hampshire, 
Massachusetts-Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New- York, 
New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and 
Sussex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, and 
South Carolina, to Isaac Gallop, Gentleman, 

"We reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriot- 
ism, valour, conduct and fidelity, DO by these presents con- 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 1 25 

stitute and appoint you to be Lieutenant in Capt. Spicers Com- 
pany in the 13th Regiment, commanded by Colo. Parsons, in the 
army of the United Colonies, raised for the defence of American 
Liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof. 

"You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the 
duty of Lieutenant by doing and performing all manner of things 
thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and recjuire all 
officers and soldiers under your command, to^ be obedient to- your 
orders, as Lieutenant. And }'OU are toi observe and follow such 
orders and directions from time to time as you shall receive from 
this or a future Congress of the United Colonies, or Committee 
of Congress, for that purpose appointed, or Commander in Chief 
for the time being of the army of the United Colonies, or any 
other your superior officer according to- the rules and discipline 
of war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This commis- 
sion to continue in force until revoked by this or a future Con- 
gress. 

"By Order ol the Congress. 

"July I St 1776 "John Hancock President. 

"Attest 

"Chas. Thomson Sect." 

[J. A. G.] 

THE GEER FAMILY. 

One O'f the earliest settlers in North Groton, or Ledyard, was 
George Geer. He was born in England about 1621, and his 
brother Thomas in 1623. Tradition says they were the sons of 
Jonathan Geer, of Hevitree, County of Devon. TFie original 
drafts of the Visitation of Devon, in 1620, given in the Harleian 
MSS., at the British Museum, gives something of John Geer, a 
relative of Jonathan, to whom the family coat of arms pertains. 
Mention is also made of the family of John Geer, of Hevitree, 
in "The Worthies of Devon," by Prince, in 1701, and in "Devon- 
shire," by Thomas Westcote. They came toi this country, land- 
ing in Boston in 1635. Thomas settled in Enfield, Conn., in 
1682, and George came to New London about 1651, probably 
with Robert Allyn and others. Feb. 17, 1658, he married Sarah, 



126 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

eldest daughter of Robert Allyn. and settled on a tract of land 
adjoining or near the said Allyn's land on the grant of fifty acres 
made to him by the town of New London. About twelve years 
later he purchased of Eleazer Isbell 150 acres of land which the 
town of New London had given to Isbell's father Robert Isbell, 
and was known as one of the "Poquetannock grants." July 
24, 1665, the town of New London also granted George Geer 
100 acres more of upland. 

The survey was May 6, 1698, but evidently covered the grants 
made in 1653. It is dif^cult now to designate the precise bound- 
aries of this original farm, but most of it has been occupied by 
his descendants to the present time. The northern boundary 
was the dividing line between the towns of Norwich and New 
London, now known as the Rose Hill road, and included most 
of the farm now occupied by Isaac W. Geer, and the next farm 
of the late James Geer, also the adjoining farm south known as 
the Capt. Nathaniel B. Geer farm, now owned by Alfred Clark, 
and the intervening land south to a short distance beyond the 
mill. 

He also purchased tracts of land, near Preston City, and in 
what is now Griswold, of C)waneco, son of L^ncas, which have 
been occupied by his descendants. 

George Geer had eleven children, all of whom married and 
had families. 

Of these children, Sarah, born Feb 2."], 1659, married Na- 
thaniel Park, and lived in Preston. 

Jonathan Geer, b. May 26, 1662, lived in what is now Gris- 
wold, on the Fred Brown farm, about ten miles north of his 
father's. His father deeded this farm of 130 acres to him Jan. 
1 1, 1686. Dec. 27, 1686, he with about twenty other landholders, 
including the above named Nathaniel Park, petitioned the Gen- 
eral Court of Hartford for a town to be set off bordering on 
Norwich, New London and Stonington. Their petition was 
granted and the town was called Preston. 

Joseph Geer, born Oct. 14, 1664, married Sarah Howard, and 
lived in Griswold on land his father bought of Owaneco, where 
David Austin Geer now lives. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AXD GENEALOGIES. 12/ 

Hannah, born P"eb. 2y, 1666, married Charles Wilhams, and 
hved in Preston. 

Margaret Geer, born February, 1669, married Thomas Gates, 
and lived in Griswold, 011 the place known as the Edward Cook 
farm, near Jewett City. 

Mary Geer, born March 26, 1671, married Zachariah Mainor, 
and lived near Allyn's Point, adjoining the farm of her grand- 
father, Robert Allyn. 

Daniel Geer, born Sept., 1673, lived in Griswold, on the 
Nehemiah Prentice farm. 

Robert Geer, born Jan. 2, 1675, married April 3, 1700, Martha 
Tyler, daughter of Hopestill Tyler, and settled south of the 
homestead on land deeded him by his father, where he built a 
house and the first grist mill in this part of the country. This 
was one of three places in the town where warnings were posted ; 
the other places were at Capt. Morgan's and Ralph Stoddard's. 
Robert Geer served as sergeant and captain in the colonial mili- 
tia. He died Nov. 20, 1742. 

Anne Geer, born Jan. 6, 1679, married Daniel Tyler, May 28, 
1700, and lived near her sister Mary, wife of Zachariah Mainor. 

Isaac Geer. born March 26, 168 1, lived next south of the 
homestead, where Capt. Nathaniel B. Geer lived until within a 
few years. The old house is still standing, and occupied by 
Alfred Clark. 

Jeremiah Geer, born Sept., 1683, married Esther Hilliard, 
and lived with his parents on the homestead place. 

George Geer's first house was built on the side hill near a 
never-failing spring of water, still in use, a few rods from the 
present house. The second house was built by George Geer, 
and occupied later by his youngest son Jeremiah, until his death 
in 1 72 1. George Geer became blind in his old age, and spent 
the last five or six years of his life with his daughter Margaret, 
who married Thomas Gates and lived near Jewett City, where 
he died in the latter part of the year 1726, aged 105 years. He 
was buried in the old graveyard near the Welcome A. Browning 
farm in Griswold. 

It appears that Jeremiah failed to fulfil the contract made 



128 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

with his father, and the hornestead property reverted to George 
Geer, about 1718, and was subsequently purchased in part by 
Robert, who probably removed there from the mill property 
in his later years, and who deeded the farm to his three sons, 
Robert, Ebenezer and James. 

Capt. Robert Geer, was one of the. foremost men of the town 
and prominent in founding and supporting St. James' Episcopal 
Church. He died in 1742 and was buried in the churchyard 
near the Bill parsonage. 

Robert Geer, Jr., bought, in 1732, land of the heirs of Jere- 
miah Geer and settled where Isaac G. Geer now lives. James, 
the younger brother, succeeded to the mill property and the 
business of tanning which his father begun. 

In 1742 Ebenezer bought out the interest of his elder brother, 
Robert, in the homestead where he lived, and built the third 
house. 

Ebenezer was born April i, 1709, and married Jan. 2, 1735, 
Prudence Wheeler, daughter of Richard and Prudence (Payson) 
Wheeler. He died Aug. 28, 1763. 

Of his ten children, Robert, the second son, succeeded to the 
homestead. 

Robert Geer was born Feb. 18, 1744. He was graduated at 
Yale College in 1763. He married Lucy Fitch, daughter of John 
and Alice Fitch, of Windham, Nov. 4, 1767. He served in, the 
Revolutionary War as corporal in Capt. Williams' Company oif 
detached militia, under command of Lt.-Col. Nathan Gallup, 
stationed at Fort Griswold in 1779. 

He was prominent in town affairs and was senior warden of 
St. James' Church many years. He died Aug. 30, 1834, at the 
age of 90. He had eight children, of whom the sons, Charles 
and Ebenezer, and two daughters, Prudence, who married Amos 
Bailey, and Sophia, who married Stephen Breed, who' w^ent to 
Brooklyn, Susquehanna Co., Penn., where they were among the 
pioneers of that part of the State. The yomigest son, James, 
remained on the home farm. 

James Geer was born Oct. 31, 1783. He married Sally Lewis, 
daughter of Peleg and Abigail (Smith) Lewis, Jan. 20, 1808. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 



129 



He was teacher of singing schools in Ledyard many years, 
served as justice of the peace for a long period, and was senior 
warden of St. James' Church more than forty years. He died 
March 4, 1872. The fourth house on the homestead farm was 
built by James Geer in 1848, and is now standing-. After his 
death, his youngest son, Capt. Nathaniel B. Geer, occupied it 
until his death Aug. 18, 1898, and it is now the home of his two 
eldest daughters who are of the seventh generation. 

James Lewis Geer was born Nov. 8, 1808, sou of James and 
Sally (Lewis) Geer. His boyhood days were spent in Ledyard. 
Later he taught scliool in the "Lester district," also in Long 

Societ}', Preston, Grotoii 
Bank and Geddes, now 
Syracuse, N. Y., — seven 
winters in all. Nov. 19, 
1834, he married Prudence 
Almira Gallup, daughter of 
Isaac and Prudence (Geer) 
Gallup, of Preston. She 
was born in Ledyard, in 
the g-lebe house or rectory 
of St. James' Church, on 
the Bill farm, March 4, 
1815. She died Julv 17. 

1847. 

Mr. Geer moved to Nor- 
wich in 1835 and lived 
(with the exception of a 
few years at the home- 
stead) on Park Street. In 
his early life he engaged in cabinet-making and house-painting. 
In 1859 lie formed a copartnership with Shubael Gallup under 
the firm-name of Gallup & Geer, conducting an auction and 
commission business in Norwich for twenty years. He mar- 
ried, second, Mary Ellen Geer, daughter of Elijah D. and 
Dorothy Geer, of Griswold, who died June ist, 1887. Mr. Geer 
was one of the original members of Trinity Episcopal Church in 
9 




James L. Geer. 



130 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Norwich and a vestryman several years. He died in Norwich, 
Feb. 9, 1899, at the age of ninety years. 

Robert Geer, son of James Lewis and Prudence Almira 
(Gallup) Geer, was born at the Geer homestead March 23, 1837, 
and attended school in the Geer school-house and Poquetanuck 
Academy. The rest of his early life was spent in No^rwich. He 
learned the drug business in the stores of Wm. P. Eaton, and 
Jolm L. Devotion, and later conducted the drug business for 
himself on Main Street, Norwich, and in Syracuse, N. Y. In 
1864 he went to Albany, N. Y., where he has been engaged in 
the wholesale salt business since that date. He has held various 
positions of trust in that city. [E. G.] 

THE GRAY FAMILY. 

Tradition affirms that two Scotch boys, by the name of Philip 
and Benjamin Gray, taken on board a vessel off the coast of Great 
Britain, were landed in Boston, and that Philip is the ancestor 
of the Grays in this part of the country. He came from Eastern 
Massachusetts to New London, later to North Groton. About 
1710 he married Mrs. Mary (Stoddard) Button. Their children 
were Philip, Benjamin, Ezekiel, Elijah. Philip Gray was by 
occupation a knitter. He died 1780, aged 90 years. 

His son, Philip, married Hannah Latham. They had six 
children — Jonas, Latham, Ezekiel, Stephen, Lydia and Mary. 
After the death of Mrs. Gray, Mr. Gray married for a second 
wife, Mercy Chapman. Tliey had one child, Asa Gray. 

Philip Gray, 2nd, died in 1802, aged 63 years. Mrs. Mercy 
Gray died in 181 6. 

Benjamin Gray, second son of Philip, i-st, and Mary Stoddard, 
was born in 1740. He married Temperance Baxter. They had 
two sons — Thomas Baxter and Philip Gray, 3rd. Benjamin died 
in 1813. Ezekiel Gray, son of Philip, ist, and Mary, died at 
sea, aged 18 yeajs. 

Elijah Gray, son of Philip, ist, and Mary, born 1743, married 
Candice Perkins. They had four children-^Elijah, Prudence, 
Hannsh and Eunice. Elijah lived in the time of the Revolution, 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I3I 

was wounded, taken prisoner and died on board Jersey prison- 
ship near New York. 

Jonas, soil of Philip, 2nd, and Hannah, was born 1770. He 
married Lucy Spicer. Their children were Philip, Winthrop, 
Oliver, Abisha, Hannah, Mary and Althea. Jonas followed the 
West India trade. Lucy, his wife, died in 18 13. Jonas married 
May Gardiner as his second wife, then moved to Pennsylvania. 

Latham Gray, son of Philip, 2nd, and Hannah, born 1772, 
married Amy Brown. Their children were Henry, Latham, 
Mercy, Esther, Annah, Betsey, Amy and Filena. Latham, ist, 
died 1821 ; Amy died 1822. 

Stephen, son of Philip, 2nd, and Hannah, born 1775, married 
Lydia Stedman. Their children were Stephen, 2nd, Austin, 
Norman, Lydia and Ardelia. Stephen, ist, died 1840. 

Asa Gray, son of Philip, 2nd, and Mercy Chapman, born in 
1786, married Susannah Wilcox. They had one son, Asa Gray, 
2nd, who lived in the eastern part of the town of Ledyard. He 
was a store-keeper, mechanic and farmer. He printed a little 
history himself in 185 1. 

Thomas B. Gray, son of Benjamin, 2nd, and Temperance 
Baxter, born 1769, married Suweah Stanton. She soon died. 
He then married Katurah Stanton. They had five children — 
Benjamin, 3rd, John, Thomas, Suweah and Temperance. This 
family lived on the place now owned by John Yeomans. The 
father and children moved into the State of New York, and their 
descendants are still living there. Thomas B. died in 1830, 
Though we know but little of the family we presume that the 
name of the post-office. Gray, in Herkimer County, was sug- 
gested by the fact that so many Grays are living in the region. 

The three heads of Gray families living in the town of Led- 
yard in 1836 were as follows : 

Philip Gray, 3rd, known as Esquire Gray, a carpenter and 
builder. He lived in the house now occupied by William H. 
Spicer. 

Asa Gray, 2nd, a mechanic and farmer. 

Stephen Gray, 2nd, a mechanic. 

Philip Gray, 3rd, son of Benjamin and Temperance Baxter, 



132 HISTORV OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

born in 1775, married Sabrina Stanton. She soon died. He 
then married Sarah Morgan. Their eight children were Thomas 
Baxter, Benjamin Shapley, WilHam Morgan, Sabrina, Mary, 
SaUy, Juha, Betsey. PhiHp Gray, 3rd, died 1838. Sarah 
Morg-an, his wife, died 1854. 

Thomas Baxter, born 1802, married Amanda WiUiams. 
They had eight children — Philip B., Thomas B., James B., 
William Shapley, Daniel M., Amandar W., Prudence M. and 
Lucy A. His wife, Amanda Williams, died 1849. He then mar- 
ried Martha B. York. They had one son, Eneas M. Gray, 
born 1 85 1. 

Philip B.,born 1825, married Mary Myers. Their children were 
Henry B., Amos M., Daniel E., Hadley G. and Philip B., 5th. 

Henry B. married Mary Bryan. 

Daniel E. married Martha A. Gray. Their children were 
Els worth Cutler, Philip Enos, Hadley P. and Allyn D. 

Hadley G. married Mary Capwell. They had one child, 
Nettie May. 

Philip B., 5th, married Charlotte Weathered. 

Thomas B. Gray, 3rd, married Esther Gates. Their children 
were Charles H., born 1853; Luther C, born 1857; Frank, born 
1861, died 1886; Edwin. 

Charles H. married Phebe Babcock. Their children were 
Minnie, Arthur and Frank. 

Luther C. Gray, born 1857, married Mary E. Beckwith. 
Their children were May Belle Gray and Edna Gray. 

Edwin Gray married Edith Thornton. Their children were 
Ruth, Herbert, Thomas B., 4th, Lewis H. (Earl M. and Esther 
M., twins), Helen G. and Walter. 

James B. Gray, lost at sea ; unmarried. 

William Shapley Gray, settled in Iowa ; married. Their 
children were John, William. 

Daniel M. Gray settled in Iowa; married Samantha Wheeler. 
Their children were James, Samantha, Lucy and Thomas. 

Amandar W. Gray, the well-known horticulturist and fruit 
grower and dealer, married Franciila Peckham, daughter of Rev. 
Stephen Peckham. They had eight children, viz. : — 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I33 

Charles A. Gray, born 1858, married Elizabeth Peckham. 

James B. Gray, born i860, married Helen Littlefield. Their 
children were Betsey L., Bertha F., Alba A., Julia, Charles A., 
Frederic and Helen M. 

Hattie Gray, born 1861, married Ralph W. Gallup. 

George Gray, born 1863, married Miss Snyder. 

Edwin Gray, born 1865, married Lena A. Turner. 

William Gray, born 1873. 

Frank Gray, born 1875. 

Jennie B. Gray, born 1876, married Frank E. King. 

Francina P. Gray, wife of Amandar W., died 1897. 

Amandar W. Gray married, for his second wife, Mrs. May 
Staubly, who was Miss May Sawyer. 

Prudence M. died at the age of 18 years. 

Lucy A. Gray married Henry M. Durfey. Their children 
were Harry and Lucy. 

Eneas M. Gray, born 185 1, married Sarah J. Harvey. Their 
children were Martha A., Mason T., Benjamin U., Nathan G. and 
Mary E. 

Eneas M. Gray married, for his second wife, Millie McKenzie. 
They had one child, Eneas M. Gray, Jr. 

William Morgan Gray, son of Philip, 3rd, born 1814, married 
Sarah Gallup. They had five children — Ellen, Edwin, Emily M., 
William M. and Mary. 

Emily M. married Semore Church. They had one child, 
Emily. 

William M. married Nellie Pettigrew. They had one child, 
vSarah. 

William married second wife. Four children. 

Benjamin Shapley Gray, son of Philip, 3rd, born 1812, mar- 
ried Sarah J. Lewis. They had three children — John S., Eunice 
and William W. 

John S. married Delia Baldwin. They had three sons — 
George, Benjamin and Harry. 

Eunice Gray married Amo's Cutler. 

William W. married Anna Wing. They had one daughter, 
Hattie J. She married Rev. Joseph Carey, 1899. 



134 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LED YARD. 

Sabrina Gray, daughter of Philip, 3rd, married James Will- 
iams. Their children were John S. Jackson, James, Sarah, Julia 
A., Mary Nelson, Charles and Edwin. 

Mary Gray, daughter of Philip, 3rd, born 1806, married 
Charles S. Hewitt. 

Sarah M., born 1808, died 1821. . 

Julia A. Gray, daughter of Philip, 3rd, married Amos M. 
Allyn. Their children were John and Charles B. AUyn. 

Betsey Gray, daughter of Philip, 3rd, born 182 1, married 
Rufus M. Gallup. Their children were Erastus, born 1845, and 
Russell Gallup, born 1851. 

Asa Gray, 2nd, son of Asa and Susannah Gray, born 1802, 
married Lusanna Prosser. Their children were Asa F., Denman, 
George, Montgomery, Mercy, Susan and Sarah. 

Asa F., born 1823, died 1846. 

Denman, born 1830, died 183 1. 

George, born 1835. 

Montgomery, bo'm 1837, died in the War of the Rebellion. 

Mercy, born 1822, died 1838. 

Susan, born 1825, married Stanton Main. They had two 
sons — Wilmot and Stanton Main. 

Sarah, born 1833, died 1839. 

The members of this family living in 1901 : 

George Gray living now in Ledyard, a printer by trade, and 
Susan (Mrs. Main), residing in Rhode Island. 

Stephen Gray, 2nd, a mechanic, born 1775, died 1841, married 
Lydia Stedman. They had five children — Stephen, 3rd, Austin, 
Norman, Lydia and Ardelia. 

Stephen Gray, 3rd, son of Stephen, 2nd, a wagon-maker, born 
1800, married Caroline Babcock. They had one son, Stephen, 
4th ; he lived at Gale's Ferry. 

Austin L., son of Stephen, 2nd, born 1807, a well-known me- 
chanic and wagon-maker, married Betsey F. Smith. They had 
five children — Lydia E., Julia F., Sarah J., Austin L., Jr., and 
John M. 

Lydia E. married Austin Benham. They had two sons — • 
John and George. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I35 

Julia F. married Daniel Strong. They had one son, 
Daniel W. 

Sarah J. married Erastus Gilbert. 

John M. Gray married Flora I. Peckham. Their children 
were Marion L, John R. and Leslie P. Gray. 

Austin L. Gray, 2nd, and John M. Gray, reside in Ledyard. 

John M. is the well-known groceryman and general store- 
keeper and post- master. 

There now reside in Ledyard fifteen voters by the name of 
Gray, all of them descendants of the three heads of families who 
were living here when the town was set off from Groton in 1836. 
The name outnumbers every other on the registry list. This 
brief history is for nearly two hundred years, from the first land- 
ing in this country, to the present time. 

The Grays are widely scattered over this country. 

"Where are they — the companions of our games, 

With whom in youth we gamboled on the sod, 
The gray-haired fathers and the gentle dames. 

Whose hospitable thresholds once we trod ! 
The beauteous forms that taught our hearts to love, 

And woke our hopes and fears with magic spell 
The cheerful friends with whom we wont to rove. 

Who twines around the hearts we loved so well." 

[R. G.] 

THE HURLBUT FAMILY. 

Thoinas Hurlbut, the first of the name in this region, came 
to Saybrdok in 1635. Stephen Hurlbut, descendant of Thomas, 
in the third generation, settled in New London soon after 1690. 
John Hurlbut, son of Stephen, married Mary Stoddard, and 
settled on the farm now owned by Henry Hurlbut. He died 
May 5, 1 761, and she May 22, 1790. Tlieir son, John Hurlbut, 
Jr., married xA.bigail, daughter of Dea. John Avery, of Preston. 
They resided for several years in the north-east part ol Groton ; 
but in the spring of 1778 moved to Wyoming. Pa., where they 
spent the remainder of their days. He was three times a mem- 



136 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

ber from Westmoreland, Pa., to the General Assembly of Con- 
necticut. They had eight children. He died March 10, 1782, aged 
52; and she March 29, 1805, aged 70. — See biographical sketch. 

Rufus Hurlbut, fourth child of John and Mary (Stoddard) 
H., married Hannah, daughter of Peter and Anna Lester. They 
lived a few rods north of where the. Gale's Ferry Church now 
stands. Mr. Hurlbut was killed in Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781, 
when the oldest of their nine children was only fourteen years 
of age. 

Hannah, fifth child of John and Mary S. Hurlbut, married 
James Stoddard Dec. 4, 1761. They lived near Poquetanuck 
Cove. 

Ralph Hurlbut, sixth child of John and Mary S. Hurlbut, 
died near Lake Champlain, during the French and Indian War. 
He was never married. 

Lydia was the seventh child of John and Mary S. H. 

Rispa, their eighth child, was married to Amos Champan Feb. 
26, 1786. They lived at Gale's Ferry, near the old wharf. 

Freelove, their ninth child, became the wife of Dea. Shapley 
Morgan, of North Groton. 

Freelove Hurlbut, first child of Rufus and Hannah, died 
April 19, 1767, aged two years. 

Ralph, their second child, and oldest son, was born May 19, 
1767, and died May 8, 1850. — See biographical sketch. 

Rufus Hurlbut, Jr., (1769-1850), third child of Rufus and 
Hannah, in early life moved to Western New York. After 
spending three years there, where the city of Rochester now 
stands, he returned and spent the remainder of his life in Groton. 
He was married Sept. 29, 1803, tO' Mary Stuart, of Kent, Conn. 

Amos Hurlbutt (1770-1832), fourth child of Rufus and Han- 
nah, had two wives; the first, Sally Starr (1773-1804), of Groton; 
the second, Betsey Starr (1768-1805). To the first wife he was 
married Jan. 4, 1796; to the second Sept. 27, 1804. He had four 
children — i. Sophia (oddest), was born Nov. 10, 1796. In the 
winter of 1797 he moved with his family from Groton to Venice, 
N. Y., driving an ox-team and sled, cro'ssing the Thames, the 
Connecticut and the Hudson rivers on the ice. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I37 

Asaph Hurlbut (1772- 18 10), fifth child of Rufus and Hannah, 
Hved in Groton and Salem, Conn. He had two wives. The 
first was Hannah Woodbridge, of Groton, who died at Salem, 
February 2J, 1809. They had four children — Hannah 
(1802-1829), Asaph (1804-1858), Anna (1805-1861), Ralph 
(1807- 1 886). His second wife was Hannah Stoddard (1773- 1823), 
of Groton, to whom he was married June 11, 1809. By her he 
had two children — Tabitha (181 0-1853), and Mary (i 811- 1893). 

Hannah (1774- 1839), sixth child of Rufus and Hannah, was 
married March 21, 1793, to* Joshua Allen, son of the first Thomas 
Allen, of Allyn's Point. About 1822 they moved to Homer, 
now Cortland, N. Y. They had eight children — Hannah 

(1796 ), Eunice (1798-1850), Joshua (1800 ), Rufus 

(1803 ), Anna (1804 ), Isaac (1807 ), Mary (1810 ), 

Thomas (1812 ). 

Peter Lester Hurlbut (1776-1837), seventh child of Rufus 
and Hannah, was married Feb. 3, 1822, tO' Fanny Bill (1792-1866), 
daughter of Benjamin and Amy Bill, of Groton. They located 
on the farm, first owned by James Smith (1674-1756), then by 
his son, then by his grandson, who sold it to- Peter Lester Hurlbut 
about 1822. It is now (1900) owned by Amos Hurlbut, the fifth 
in the direct line of descent from the above-named James Smith. 
Peter Lester and Fanny (Bill) Hurlbut had four children — Sarah 

B. (1823- 1 859), John (1 826- 1 894), Amos (1828 ), Peter Lester 

(1838-1853). 

Lucy (1778-1837), eighth child of Rufus and Hannah, was 
never married. 

Anna (1780-1804), ninth child of Rufus and Hannah, was 
married in 1801 to Stoddard Niles, of Groton. They moved to 
Genoa, N. Y. They had a son, Ralph, born in Groton in 1802, 
and a daughter, Anna, born in Genoa. 

Asaph Hurlbut (1804-1858), second child of Asaph and 
Hannah (Woodbridge) Hurlbut, was married November 7, 1830, 
to Bridget N. Stoddard (1807-1890). They resided on a farm 
near Gale's Ferry. After the death of Mr. Hurlbut, Mrs. Hurl- 
but sold the farm and bought a place in Groton, wdiere she spent 
the remainder of her life. They had five children — Hannah J. 



138 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

(1834-1860), Henry J. (1836-1838), Ralph A. (1839-1862), Will- 
iam H. S. (1843-1860), Mary Etta (1853-1864). 

Anna Hurlbut, third child of Asaph and Hannah, was born 
in Salem, Conn., in 1805, and died in Ledyard, in 1861. 

Ralph Hurlbut (1807-1886), was the fourth child of Asaph 
and Hannah. His father died before he was four years old, and 
he went to live with his uncle and guardian, Rev. Ralph Hurlbut. 
He inherited the old homestead, where his great-grandfather, 
John, his grandfather, Rufus, and his uncle, Ralph, in succes- 
sion, resided. Here he spent his whole life, with the exception 
of the early years of his childhood and a single year (1864) in 
Genoa, N. Y. He was married Jan. 27, 1833, to Margaret Bolles. 
They had seven children — an infant (1837-1837), Ralph W. 

(1840- 1 863), Mary A. (1842- 1859), Tabitha (1845 ), an infant 

(1848-1848), George W. (1851-1891), Henry W. (1857 ). 

Mrs. Margaret (Bolles) Hurlbut, born in 1813, is still (1900) 
living. 

Tabitha Hurlbut, fourth child of Ralph and Margaret (Bolles) 
Hurlbut, was married Aug. 10, 1865, to Robert M. Bailey, of 
Gale's Ferry. They moved to Belle Plain, Iowa, where they now 
reside. 

George W. Hurlbut, sixth child of Ralph and Margaret B., 
was married Sept. 14, 1876, to Lucy A. Perkins, of Gale's Ferry. 
They had five children. 

Henry W., seventh child of Ralph and Margaret B., was 
married Oct. 17, 1881, to Lydia A. Perkins, of Gale's Ferry. 
They had seven children. 

Sarah B. Hurlbut, first child of Peter L. and Fanny B., was 
married June 18, 1854, to Amos C. Stevens, of Pike, Pa. They 
had one child, John Hurlbut Stevens, born at Gale's Ferry, Nov. 
21, 1859, who is now living near Camptown, Pa. 

John Hurlbut (1826- 1894), second child of Peter L. and 
Fanny B. was married January 7, 1857, tO' Abby Jane Bailey 

(1830 ). They resided on a part of his father's farm near 

Gale's Ferry. They had three children: — Francis Edgar, born 
i860; Isaac Lester (1864-1887); Fanny B., born 1866. 

Francis Edgar Hurlbut, oldest child of John and Abby Jane 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I39 

B., is an engineer and electrician. He married Minnie A. Miller, 
of Colchester, Conn. They have two sons. 

Amos Hurlbut (1828 ), third child of Peter L. and Fanny 

B., was married Feb. 8, 1858, to S. Rosella Bolles (1836 ), 

daughter of Elkanah Bolles, of Jessup, Pa. Thev reside on the 
ancestral homestead at Gale's Ferry. They have four children — 
Emma R., born at Jessup, Pa., Dec. 12, i860; Annie B.. born at 
Ledyard, April 16. 1863; Fanny R.. born at Montrose, Pa., May 
24, 1872; Ralph Amos, born at Montrose, Pa., Nov. 14, 1880. 

[A. H.] 

THE LAMB FAMILY. 

The first ancestor in this country, of the Lamb family 
of Ledyard, came from England, and settled in Haverhill, 
Mass. Having lost possession of his lands in that place, through 
some difficulty with the Indians, he moved to Connecticut, and 
bought of Peter Crary a tract of land near the present village of 
Old Mystic. At a later date he obtained possession of lands 
which include the place now occupied by Deacon James C. Lamb. 
This ancestor (whose name has not come down to us) was suc- 
ceeded in the ownership of the place by his son, Isaac Lamb, 
whose w'ife's name was Elizabeth. Daniel Lamb, son of Isaac 
and Elizabeth, born 1704, was the next owner. He built the 
house which now stands upon the place. He married Zerviah 
Button. They had eight children, four sons and fo'ur daughters. 
Their son, Samuel, became the next owner and occupant. He 
was born in 1748. and died in 1834. His wife was Tabitha 
Wightman. Daniel W. Lamb (1783-1859), succeeded his father, 
Samuel, in the occupany of the place. He w^as a famous school- 
teacher in his day. He taught in the Lamb district no less than 
eleven winters. He was the father of Deacon James C. Lamb, 
who with his son, Daniel, now (1900) lives on the place. 

The Lambs, through their several generations, have been 
decidedly religious people. Isaac Lamb, the first name on the 
above list, was one of the first deacons of the first Baptist Church 
(1705), in Groton, which was the first Baptist Church in Coil- 



140 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

necticut. His grandson, Samuel, was a deacon of the same 
church, and Samuel's grandson, James C, is now deacon of that 
church. 

The family has been very fruitful in clergymen. Two uncles 
of Deacon James C. Lamb, Nehemiah and Jo'hn, were Baptist 
ministers. The former preached in the States of New York and 
Michigan; the latter at difTerent places in the State of New York. 

Rev. Nehemiah Lamb, above-named, had four sons who were 
Baptist ministers. Rev. Roswell Lamb, a brother of Deacon 
James C, preached in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Rev. J. 
Curtis Lamb, of Noank, has preached in L}'me and Haddam. 
Conn. ; Hays City, Kansas ; Brewster, Mass., and Wilmington, 
Del. 

THE LATHAM FAMILY. 

The home of the family, whence all of the Lathams sprang, 
is Derbyshire, England, and they can be traced back to the time 
of the Danish conquest of England. The title of Earl of Latham 
is now held by one of the family there. 

Susannah Winslow, the daughter of John Winslow, who' came 
over in the Mayflower, married a Robert Latham. 

The first ferryman between New London and Groton was 
Carey Latham, from whom the Lathams, of Groton and Ledyard 
descended. 

For an account of Carey Latham and his descendants see 
Illiss Caulkins' History of New London. 

Among them, as connected with the early history of North 
Groton (now Ledyard), we note Thomas Latham, whoi was born 
April 8, 1744. He married Eunice Perkins July 15, 1770. She 
was the daughter of Ebenezar and Sarah Perkins and was born 
Oct. 2^, 1750. 

Thomas Latham became a ship carpenter and built at Gale's 
Ferry several vessels, including two- ships, one of which called 
"The Phenix," was of "the burthen of 500 tons." 

For services rendered to the United States Government, in 
the ship-building line, during the Revolutionary War, he received 
a grant of a considerable tract of land, in the western part of the 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 



141 



State of New York, but owing to- his death away from home and 
the wanton destruction of his papers and documents, his claim, 
which might have been a rich legacy to his heirs, seems to have 
been invalidated. He died at Burlington, Vt., Oct. 17, 1801. 
The children of Thomas and Eunice Latham were Thomas, born 
March 28, 1771 ; Eunice, born Oct. 8, 1772; Sarah, born Aug. 6, 
1774; Comfort, born Dec. 31, 1777; William, born x\pril 25, 1780; 
Jaco'b, born Aug. 29, 1783. 

Thomas was drowned at sea Jan. 7, 1796. 
Eunice was married to^ Jonathan Gardner, Dec. 14, 1792, and 
they moved to Pennsylvania, where they reared a numerous 
family. 

Sarah married Alexander Allyn, Sept. 8, 1791, and was the 
mother of Captains Christopher and Latham Allyn, also of Henry 
Allyn, who removed to Palmyra, N. Y., and of Mrs. Sarah Brown, 
who reared at Gale's Ferry a large family, including Christopher 
A. and Latham A. Brown. 

Comfort Latham died in Virginia, in 1802. 

William married Esther, 
daughter of Obadiah and 
Esther (Williams) Bailey, 
Sept. 9, 1807. Their chil- 
dren were Emmeline, bora 
July I, 1808; Sally Maria, 
born Oct. 3, 181 1 ; Tho'mas 
Morgan, born Aug. 29. 
1813. 

Emmeline married Sim- 
eon A. Bailey. 

Sally Maria died young. 
Thomas M., the father of 
the writer of this sketch, 
died October 13, 1898. He 
w^as thrice married, and his 
surviving children at date 
of writing (Oct., 1900), are 
Thomas and Orrin, who' re- 




Thomas Latham, Esq. 



142 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

side at Gale's Ferry ; Lyman A. and Mrs. Fanny Spicer, of Led- 
yard ; Ira C, of Stonington ; John N., of Groton ; and Mrs. Sarah 
Lamb, of Meriden. Their dates, deeds and descendants we leave 
to future chroniclers. 

In writing a sketch of ancestors we have an idea of the senti- 
ment which caused the poet Gray to say : 

"No longer seek their merits to disclose 

Nor draw their frailties from their dread abode, 

There they alike in trembling hope repose, 
The bosom of their Father and their God." 

[T. L.] 

THE LESTER FAMILY. 

Genealogy of the Lesters that settled in the town of Ledyard, 
New London County, Conn. : 

Andrew Lester first appears at Gloucester, Mass. An early 
settler from 1643. (Then called Lister). He was licensed to 
keep a house of entert?.inment by the county court, Feb. 26, 
1648-9. 

The births of four children of Andrew and Barbara Lester, 
are recorded at Gloucester, Mass. : 

Daniel Lester, born April 15, 1642, married Hannah Fox, 
daughter of Thomas Fox, 1669. 

Andrew, Jr., born Dec. 26, 1644, married Lydia Bailey. 

Mary Lester, born Dec, 1647, married Samuel Fox. 

Anna Lester, born March 21, 1651, married Thos. Way. 

Andrew Lester removed to Pequot (now New London, 
Conn.), in 165 1. Eearly in 1651 a new street was laid out in the 
rear of the town plot in New London, for the accommodation of 
"The Cape Ann Company." This street was called "Cape Ann 
Lane." The lots on this street were nine in number. Hugh 
Caulkins had the first lot, Hugh Roberts lot 2, Mr. Coit had lot 
3, and Andrew Lester lot 4. 

April, 1 65 1, the marsh land laying along Alewive cove, was 
given to a company of undertakers, viz., Mr. Denison, Hugh 
Caulkins, John Elderkin and Andrew Lester, who undertook to 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I43 

drain it, and were to have all the land "Now under water for- 
ever." 

Barbara, wife of Andrew Lester, died at New London Feb. 
2, 1653-4, being the first death of a woman recorded in New- 
London. 

Andrew Lester's second wife was Joanna, widow of Robert 
Hempstead, and probably daughter of Isaac Willy. She died in 
1659, without issue. 

Andrew Lester married, for his third wife, Anna Clark. 
They had three children — Timothy, born July 4, 1662. Joseph, 
born June 15, 1664. Benjamin, born 1666, married Ann Sted- 
man. 

Andrew Lester was constable and collector of New London 
in 1668, and bought land in said town, July 12, 1659. He died 
in 1669. His widow married Isaac Willey. She died in 1692. 

Andrew Lester, Jr., removed tO' Grotoii and was constable in 
1669, and is supposed to have been the first deacon of the Groton 
Church, and the first Lester that settled in Groton. He settled 
on land granted to his father. He married Lydia Bailey, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Bailey. He died in 1708. Their children were 
Andrew Lester, 3d, born about 1675, married Lydia Stark- 
weather. Jonathan Lester, born 1677, married Deborah Allyn, 
Sept. 22, 1724. Samuel Lester, born 1679, married Hannah Bill. 
Hannah Lester, born 1681, married Ralph Stoddard, June 3, 
1723. Margaret Lester, born 1683, married Duglass. 

Daniel Lester, son of Andrew and Barbara, married Hannah 
Fox, daughter of Tho^mas Fox, of Concord, 1669. Children — ■ 
Ann. born Aug. 30, 1670. Hannah, born March 11, 1671, mar- 
ried William Chapman, March 22, 1690. Elizabeth, born Feb. 
25, 1672, married probably Philip Bill. Daniel, born April 5, 
1676, married Mary Wells, Oct. 20, 1702. John, born Oct. 15, 
1679. 

Sergeant Daniel Lester, son cA Andrew and Barbara, lived 
upon the great neck. New London, where he died June 16, 1716. 
He was brought in to town and buried under arms. 

Joseph and Benjamin Lester, sons of Andrew Lester and 
Ann Clark, his wife, settled 011 farms in the vicinitv of the town 



144 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

of New London. The descendants of the latter are quite num- 
erous. By the first wife, Ann Stedman, he had nine sons, and 
two daughters, and probably other children by a second wife. 
Only six children are recorded to Benjamin and Ann Lester in 
New Londoin. 

Andrew Lester, 3d, born about 1675, married Lydia Stark- 
weather. He died May 22, 1757. Their children were John 
Lester, born Jan. 2, 1716. Timothy Lester, born Aug. 2, 1718. 
John Lester, born July 19, 1721. Mary Lester, born Oct. 19, 
1723. 

Jonathan Lester, soil of Andrew, Jr., and his wife, Lydia 
Bailey, daughter of Thomas Bailey, born about 1677, married 
Deborah Allyn, daughter of Robert and Deborah AUyn, Sept. 
22, 1724. Children of Jonathan and Deborah Lester — Jonathan, 

born about 1725. Deborah, born , baptized Oct. 10, 1731. 

Thomas, born , baptized Oct. 10, 173 1. Amos, born 1728, 

baptized Oct. 10, 1731. Wait, born , baptized Oct. 10, 1731. 

Peter, born , baptized Aug. 8, 1732. Simeon, born , 

baptized Aug. 4, 1734. David, born , baptized Nov. 7, 

1736. 

On July 3, 1742, a severe thunder storm occurred, in which a 
son of Jonathan Lester was killed. He and his two' brothers 
were at work on hay at the time. The lad killed was ten years 
.of age. 

Samuel Lester, son of Andrew Lester, Jr., and Lydia Bailey 
Lester, was born about 1679. He married Hannah Bill, probably 
daughter of Philip Bill, Nov. 5, 1707, and died Jan. 15, 1750. 
She died Nov. 24, 1751. Their children were Samuel, Jr., born 
Sept. 23, 171 1. Elizabeth, born March 23, 1715. Elamuel, born 
July 18, 1719. Sarah, born Jan. 30, 1722. Hannah, born Jan. 
12, 1727. Margaret, born Feb. 17, 1729. Zarniah, born Nov. 

II. 1733- 

Thomas Lester, probably son of Jonathan and Deborah Allyn 
Lester, born about 1727. He married Mary Allyn, Feb. 28, 1754. 
Their children were Thomas, Jr., born March i, 1755. Mary, 
born March 14, 1756. Wait, born Dec. 17, 1759; killed in Fort 
Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781. Ebenezer, born Aug. i, 1761. Daniel, 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 145 

born March 27, 1763. Jonathan, born April 9, 1765. Ebenezer, 
2d, born Dec. 2, 1766. Charles, born Nov. 14, 1768. 

Peter Lester, Sr., probably son of Jonathan Lester, born 
about 1705. He married Anna Street, probably daughter of 
James Street, August, 1733. He died Sept. 10, 1789. She died 
March 6, 1790. Their children were Peter, Jr., born April i, 
1734, married Delight Karon Bailey, daughter of Jedediah 
Bailey. Anna, born Dec. 17, 1736, married Amos, son of 
Jonathan Lester. Hannah, born March 17, 1737, married Rufus 
Hurlbutt, son of John. Asa, born Dec. 13, 1738, died while 
young. John, born Oct. 13, 1740, married Dorothy Morgan, 
Dec. 14, 1775. He was slain in Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781. 
Nathan, born July 25, 1742, married Susanna Gallup. Lucy, 
born June 4, 1744, died April 18, 1814, age 70 years; never 
married. Elizabeth, born April 2, 1746, died 1749. Eunice, born 
Jan. 8, 1748, married Nathan Conda. Deborah, born March i, 
1 75 1, died while young. Sarah, born May 8, 1753, married John 
Dean, died Feb. 4, 1838; no children. Mary, born June 18, 
1755, married Solomon Perkins. They had a large family. 

Nathan Lester, son of Peter Lester, Sr., and Anna Street 
Lester, born July 25, 1742, married Susanna Gallup, April 24, 
1798. They had one child, Hannah G. Lester, born June 8, 1798, 
married Adam Larrabee. 

Amos Lester, Sr., son of Jonathan Lester, married Anna 
daughter of Peter Lester, Sr., and Anna Street Lester. They 
had five children — Deborah, born . Anna, born 1762, mar- 
ried Peter Lester, 3d. Hannah, born , married Lathrop 

Allyn. Lyra, born , died . Amos, Jr., born March 25, 

1776, married Sarah Avery, Jan. 18, 1801. 

Asa Lyman Lester, son of Asa Lester and Dorothy Morgan 
Lester, married Eliza Mariah Lester, daughter of Amos Lester, 
Jr. He died Oct. 5, 1841. Their children were Sarah, born 
Sept., 1836, married Edmond Chapman. Dolly, born Aug., 
1838, married Ephraim Chapman. Hellen, born Sept., 1840, mar- 
ried Russell Wells. Mary, born May, 1846, married Henry 
Gay, Jan. 7, 1868. 

Asa Lyman Lester died Oct. 5, 1841. His widow, Eliza 
10 



146 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Mariah Lester, married, second, Asa AUyn. Child, Henry, born 
Jan. 18, 1855, married Nellie Gray. 

Hannah, daughter of Peter Lester, ist, married Rufiis Hurl- 
butt, son of John Hurlbutt. Rufus was born 1741 ; killed in Fort 
Griswold, Sept. 6. 1781. They had nine childern — Freelove, 
borri 1765, died April 19, 1767. Ralph, born May 19, 1767, mar- 
ried Mary Jones, daughter of John and Sarah Jones. Rufus, Jr., 
born March 19, 1769, married. Amo'S, born Nov. 10, 1770, mar- 
ried. Settled in Cayuga County, New York. Asaph, born Sept. 
10, 1772, married Hannah Woodbridge. Hannah, born Oct. 12, 
1774, married Joshua Allyn. Peter L., born June 2, 1776, mar- 
ried Fanny Bill. Lucy, born Dec. 14, 1778, single, died Oct. 17, 
1837. Anna, born July 10, 1780, married Stoddard Niles. 

Peter Lester, Jr., born April 4, 1734, son of Peter, Sr., and 
Anna Street Lester, married Delight Karon Bailey, daughter of 
Jedediah Bailey. She was born April 13, 1741. His second 
wife was widow Bridget Bailey, who died April 13, 1822. Chil- 
dren by first wife — Asa Lester, born Sept. 26, 1761, married 
Dorithy Morgan. Jonas Lester, born , killed at Fort Gris- 
wold, Sept. 6, 1 781. Peter, 3d, born 1768, married Anna Lester, 
daughter of Amos Lester. Child by second wife, Karon Lester. 
Solomon Lester, born 1771, married Polly Forsyth. He died 
Dec. 4, 1840. Their children were Prudence, born 1807, mar- 
ried Ephraim Sto'ddard. She died July 18, 1875, ^S^ ^^ years. 

John, born , single. Amy, born , married Mr. Isah 

Adams. 

Asa Lester, son of Peter Lester, Jr., and Delight Karon 
Bailey Lester, married Dorithy Morgan. He died July 2, 1839. 
She died March 29, 1828. Their children were John, born Jan. 
I, 1786, died Aug. 6, 1814; drowned. Eliza, born Oct. 25, 
1788, married James McCracken, a widower. Nancy, born Nov. 
9, 1790, married John Comstock. Mary, born April 13, 1793, 
married Amos Etheredge. Sarah E., born Feb. 23, 1795. 
Lucindy, born May i, 1798, single, died Dec. 12, 1870. Thomas 
J., born May 4, 1801, died Jan. 20, 1828. Wiliam P., bom July 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I47 

19, 1803, died Oct. 30, 1807. Asa Lyman, born Feb. 10, 1810, 
married Mariah Lester. He died Oct. 5, 1841, aged 32 years. 
Susannah, born Sept 24, 181 1. 

Peter Lester, the 3d, son ol Peter, Jr., and DeHg-ht Karon 
Bailey Lester, married Anna, daughter of Amos Lester, Sr. He 
died June 5, 1S52. She died July 4, 1852. Their children were 
Avery, born 1791, single, died Nov. 21, 1873, age 82 years. 
Hannah, born April 10, 1793, married Isaac Bailey, died Oct. 19, 
1859, aged 66 years. Abby W., born 1800, single, died Nov. 15, 
1853, aged 53 years. 

Amos Lester, Jr., son of Amos and Anna Lester, daughter 
of Peter Lester, Sr., born March 25, 1776, married Sarah Avery, 
daughter of James Avery, born March 3, 1781, married Jan. 18, 
1800. Their children were Anna, born July 20, 1801, married 
Oliver vS. Tyler, Jan. 3, 1831. Lydia, born Dec. 19, 1802, mar- 
ried Erastus Kimball, Dec. 30, 1821. Amos A., born March 30, 
1805. Isaac A., bora March 4, 181 o, married Mary Chapman, 
Oct. 7, 1838. Eliza Mariah, born July 26, 181 3, married Asa 
Lyman Lester, Aug. 16, 1835. 

Isaac Lester, son of x\mos Lester, Jr., and Sarah Avery Les- 
ter, born March 4, 1810, married Mary Chapman, daughter of 
Ichobo'd Chapman, married Oct. 7, 1838. Their children were 
Amos, 3d, born Dec. 3, 1839, married Caroline S. Spicer, May 
28, 1868. Mary Jane, born June 6, 1841, married Courtland 
Lamb, Dec. 12, i860. Nathan L., born Jan. i, 1843, married 
Sarah E. Spicer, May 24, 1871. Henry C, born Oct. 20, 1844, 
died Sept. 17, 1850. Jonathan P., born June 11, 1846, married 
Cecelia Spicer, May 28, 1873. William I., born Feb. 7, 1848, 
married Sarah E. Simmons, April 16, 1885. Frank L., born 
April 23, 1850, died Nov. 17, 1876. Samuel W., born April 7, 
1852, single. Walter C, born April 15, 1854, died July 14, 1855. 
Sarah E., born Jan. 22, 1856, died March 11, 1857. 

Edward E. Lester, born April 29, 1858, son of Isaac and 
Mary Lester, married Almyra Chapman, Sept. 6, 1884. Their 
children were Edna Lucy, born May 28, 1886. Samuel L., born 
April 23, 1889. Dorithy, born April 20, 1893. 



148 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Edward E. Lester and his family reside on the same farm, 
formerly owned by his great-grandfather, Amos Lester, Sr., and 
his children are the fifth generation that have lived on this farm 
in Ledyard. 

Allyn Lester, of Groton, son of , born April 28, 1775, 

and Lydia Miner, born Feb. 25, 1782, were married April 17, 
1803. Their children were Austin M. Lester, born Feb. 2, 1804. 
married Nancy Stoddard. Emelyne Lester, born Jan. 20, 1806, 
married John Short, March 23, 1828. Rebeca A. Lester, born 
Nov. II, 1808, married Avery E. Bailey, March 18, 1832. Francis 
A., born i8to, single. 

Austin M. Lester, son of Allyn and Lydia Miner Lester, mar- 
ried Nancy Stoddard, daughter of Asa Stoddard, Sept. 16, 1827. 
Their children were Sally Ann, born April 22, 1829, died Sept. 6, 
1849. Emelyne, born May 25, 1831, married Orlando Stoddard. 
Austin A., born June 21,, 1832, married Laura Marshall, March 
12, 1856. Elizabeth, born Jan. 3, 1835, married Charles Davis. 

Avery E. Baily and Rebeca Lester, daughter of Allyn Lester 
and Lydia Miner Lester, were married March 18, 1832. Tliey 
had no children. 

Joihn Short and Emelyn Lester, daughter of Allyn and Lydia 
Lester, were married March 23, 1828. They had one child, 
Emelyne Lester Short, born May 12, 1829. 

Austin A. Lester, son of Austin M. Lester and Nancy Stod- 
dard Lester, married Laura Marshall, March 12, 1856. 

Orlando Stoddard, son oi Daniel Stoddard, married Emelyne 
Lester, daughter of Austin M. Lester and Nancy Stoddard 
Lester. 

Elizabeth Lester, daughter of Austin M. Lester and Nancy 
Stoddard Lester, married Davis. [T. B.] 

THE MAIN FAMILY. 

In the early part of the last century, three brothers by the 
name of Main, with their families, were living in the north-east 
part of the town of Groton (now Ledyard). Their names were 
Abel, Samuel and Thomas. They were sons of Benajah Main, 
who, according to Hon. Richard A. Wheeler, in his ''History of 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I49 

Stonington," was the son of Tliomas (born Feb. 13, 1730), who 
was the son of Jeremiah (born about 1778), who was the 
son of Ezekiel, the first of the name who came tO' Ston- 
ing"ton to reside permanently. He settled in that town in 1670. 
He was admitted to the First Church, Sept. 3, 1676, and he died 
June 19, 1 714. The name of his wife was Mary. Their children 
were Ezekiel, married Naomi Wells, died 171 5; Mary, baptized 
1677, died young; Jeremiah, married Ruth Brown, died 1727; 
Thomas, baptized 1679, died young; Phebe, baptized 1681, mar- 
ried Kingsbury; Hannah. 

The descendants of Thomas Main, the last of the three 
brothers named above, are quite numerous. Many of them have 
settled not far from the places of their birth. At the present 
time there are probably more persons by the name of Main living 
in Ledyard than there are of any other name. 

THE MORGAN FAMILY.* 

The first ancestor of the Ledyard Morgans, resident in this 
country, was James IMorgan, who was born in Wales in 1607. 
With two younger brothers, John and Miles, he sailed from 
Bristol, England, in March, 1636, and arrived at Boston, the 
following April. John journeyed southward and settled in Vir- 
ginia. Miles joined a company of emigrants, mostly from Rox- 
bury, Mass., and became one of the founders of Springfield, 
Mass. 

James, the elder brother, may have spent a few years in 
Plymouth. Mass. He is found, however, in Roxbury, before 
1640. Here, on August 6, 1640, he was married to Margery Hill, 
and here most of his children were born. In 1650 he moved to 
Pequot (New London), where lands were granted him on what 
is now one of the western suburbs of the city. Here was his 
home for half-a-dozen years. "On the 25th day of Dec, 1656, 
he sold his homestead and removed soon after, with several 
others, across the river, upon large tracts of land previously 



*Most of the facts contained in this sketch are found in "The 
Morgan Genealogy," by N. H. Morgan, Hartford, 1869. 



150 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

granted them by the town, upon the east side of the Thames 
river, now the south part of Grotoii. James Avery, William 
Meades and Nehemiah and John Smith, who also had grants of 
land adjoining him, were among the first settlers, and the earliest 
resident farmers in that region." 

"James Morgan was a large proprietor and dealer in lands ; 
distinguished in public enterprise ; often employed by the public 
in land surveys, establishing highways, determining boundaries, 
adjusting civil difficulties as a magistrate and ecclesiastical diffi- 
culties as a good neighbor and a Christian man, in whom all seem 
to have reposed a marked degree of confidence and trust." 

"He was one of the 'townsmen' or selectmen of New London 
for several years, and was one of the first 'Deputies' sent from 
New London plantations to the General Court at Hartford, May 
Session, 1657; and nine times afterwards was chosen to fill the 
same important position, the last time in 1670." He was an 
active member of the First Church in New London. 

In respect to property he ranked high among his fellow 
townsmen. In 1662, his list, on the town assessment, stood the 
third highest in amount, being £250. Only seven, out of about 
one hundred taxpayers, had lists amounting respectively to^ more 
than £200. 

"The spot where he first built his house, in 1657, and where 
he ever afterward resided, and where he died, is about three 
miles from Groton Ferry, on the road to Poquonoc Bridge. 
This patriarchal homestead has had an unbroken succession of 
Morgan occupants from the days of James Morgan, first, down to 
the present time." 

He died in 1685, aged 78. 

Children of James and Margery (Hill) Morgan : — 

Hannah, born i8th May, 1642, married Nehemiah Royce, 
20th Nov., 1660. 

James, born 3rd March, 1644, married Mary Vine, Nov., 1666. 

John, born 30th March, 1645, niarried Rachel Dymond; 2d, 
widow Elizabeth Williams. 

Joseph, born 29th Nov., 1646, married Dorothy Park, April, 
1670. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I5I 

Abraham, born 3rd Sept., 1648, died Aug., 1649. 

A daughter, born 17th Nov., 1650, died the week after. 

The descendants of James and Dorothy (Hill) Morgan have 
been very numerous. There is hardly a state or territory in the 
Union which has not had at some time members of the family 
residing in it. 

In regard to the general characteristics of the family its his- 
torian, Hon. N. H. Morgan, remarks: "The family, as a whole, 
is an honorable one, ranking quite above the average in moral 
and social position. Standing as I have been, for several years, 
at the focal point of a widely extended family correspondence, 
gathering in the rays which have come to me from every State 
and territory of the Union, I have been highly gratified with the 
abundant evidence of general intelligence, moral worth, and social 
standing, w^hich has greeted me from every branch of the sept 
or clan. Although among us 'one star dififereth from another 
star in glory' the constellation is an effulgent one." 

All this may be said of the family as a whole. 

Then there have been a good many individuals in it who have 
held important official positions, and filled them often with such 
ability as to achieve high commendation. The family has had a 
fair number of representatives in each ol the learned professions, 
and some of them have risen to eminence in their callings. Quite 
a number, oaitside of the professions, have developed marked 
ability in highly useful pursuits, and attained tO' eminent success. 
Some have been remarkably successful in business, and have 
acquired princely fortunes. This is especially true of Charles 
Morgan, son of Col. George, born at Killingworth, Conn., in the 
year 1795 ; moved to New York, and became an extensive ship- 
ping merchant and founder of the famoiis Morgan Iron Works ; 
also of Gov. Edwin D. Morgan, son of Col. Jasper, born in Wash- 
ington, Mass., in 1811, lived afterwards in Hartford and later in 
New York City, and there engaged in commercial pursuits which 
were remarkably successful. 

Some members of the family have obtained high rank as mili- 
tary officers, in the several wars, in which the countrv has been 
engaged, and been specially honored for their courageous and 



152 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LED YARD. 

efficient services. Quite a number as civilians have been placed 
in high and honorable positions, and proved themselves every 
way worthy of the trusts committed tO' their hands. One, Edwin 
D. Morgan, for two successive terms, served as Governor of the 
great State of New York. Three at least have been members 
of Congress, and done much to shape the counsels ol the nation, 
and guide it in the ways of righteousness. They are Edwin B., 
of Aurora, N. Y., son of Christopher, born 1806; in Congress for 
four terms in succession — 1850- 1858; Christopher, of Auburn, 
N. Y., son of Christopher, born 1808, in Congress two^ succes- 
sive terms — 1839-1843; and Edwin D., of New York City, son 
of Jasper, born 181 1, member of the United States Senate from 
1863 to 1869. 



THE ROACH FAMILY. 

The farm now occupied by Calvin Roach, in Ledyard, was 
bought from Dea. Peter Avery, by Thomas Roach, Sen., grand- 
father of the present occupant, abont 1816. 

Thomas Roach, Sen., was the son of Jodin Roach, who en- 
listed in January, 1777, and joined the Georgia Battalion, April 
II, 1777. 

Thomas Roach, Sen., enlisted in the Revolutionary xA.rmy 
July 15, 1780, and received a pension for his services in 1839. 
He was probably born in New London. When a boy he lived in 
the family of Mr. Vine Stoddard in North Groton. He married 
Thankful Williams. 

Thomas Roach, Jr., married in 1817, Lydia Avery. Their 
children were Sidney A., m. Isabel Settle. Delia A. Lucy A., 
m. Simeon Stoddard. Albert B. Erastus N., m. Mrs. Emma 
Phillips. Frank V. R., m. Mary Burrows. Calvin H., m. Maria 
Lamb. 

Thomas Roach, Jr., served in the War of 1812-15, under Capt. 
Stephen Billings. 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I53 

THE SMITH FAMILY. 

Lieut. Nehemiah Smith's house stood on a lot east of the 
Bill parsonage, only the cellar now remains tO' locate the place. 
He was son of John and Temperance (Holmes) Smith, of Groton, 
and was born Oct. 30, 1733. He married May 3, 1758, Abigail 
Avery, daughter of Benjamin and Thankful Avery and died May 
4, 1810. He served in the Revolutionary War as first lieutenant 
in Capt. William Whitney's Company in Col. Samuel Mc- 
Clellan's regiment, which was raised for one year's service from 
March, 1778. They served in Tyler's brigade under Sullivan in 
Rhode Island, August and September, 1778. He had eight chil- 
dren of whom one died young. 

Abigail, born Aug. 10, 1759, married first, Peleg Lewis, Jan. 
2^, 1^82, and lived in Groton. He died Dec. 25, 1792. 

She married, second, NoaJi Bailey and lived on Meeting- 
house Hill, Ledyard. Noah Bailey died Dec. 26, 1819. His wife 
died Sept. 16, 1842. They are buried in the Starr cemetery, 
Groton. 

Sarah Smith, born Aug. 10, 1761, married Nathaniel Bellows, 
and lived on the neighboring farm now owned by Samuel Cas- 
well and buried there. 

Anna Smith, born Dec. 8, 1765, married Oct. 5, 1786, Capt. 
Isaac Gallup, who died Aug. 3, 1814. She married, second, 
Jan. 30, 1825, Seth Williams, who died May 21, 1843. She died 
Dec. 21, 1848. They were buried in Ledyard. 

Nehemiah Srnith, born April 21, 1767, married 1792, Abigail, 
daughter of Amos and Mary (Wight) Geer, and lived in Pres- 
ton. He died Aug. 13, 1803. His wife died Dec. 2, 1856, in 
Norwalk, Ohio, and was buried there. 

Temperance Smith, born Jan. i, 1769, married, first. Park 

Allyn ; second, Packer ; lived in Ledyard. She died Feb. 

6, 1859. 

John Smith, born April 9, 1771, married June 13, 1792, 
Martha Brown, of Stonington. He married, second, March 27, 



154 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1839, Abigail, daughter of Reuben Palmer, of Colchester. He 
died April 3, 1856, and was buried in Salem. 

Thankful Smith, born Jan. 21, 1775, married Ezra Geer, son 
of Isaac and Mary (Leeds) Geer, and lived in Ledyard, north of 
her parents. She died July i, 1864. Her husband died June 13, 
1855 They are buried in the Poquetanuck cemetery. 

Lieut. Nehemiah Smith was fifth in line of descent from Rev. 
Nehemiah Smith, who was born in England, about 1605. He 
emigrated to America and was admitted freeman at Plymouth, 
Mass., March 6, 1637-8. He married Anna Bourne, of Marsh- 
field, Jan 21, 1640, sister of Martha Bourne, who married John 
Bradford, son of Gov. William Bradford. 

Rev. Nehemiah Smith lived in Stratford, New Haven, New 
London, Groton, and came to Norwich as one of the original 
proprietors of the town who purchased the land from Uncas in 
June, 1659. 

His son, Neliemiah Smith, born in New Haven. 1646. came 
to Groton with his parents about 1656. He married Oct. 24, 
1669. Lvdia Winchester, daughter of Alexander Winchester, of 
Roxburv, Mass. He served in the Colonial militia and held 
various offices in the town as justice of the peace, representa- 
tive to the General Assembly from New London, 1705. and 
Groton, 1707, and town clerk of Groton. 1707 to 1718. He 
married, second, Mrs. Elizabeth Haynes, Sept. 7, 1724, and 
died Aug. 8, 1727. They are buried in Smith Lake cemetery, 
Groton. 

His son, Nehemiah, third, born Nov. 14, 1673. married April 
22, 1696, Dorothy Wheeler, daughter of Isaac and Martha (Park) 
Wheeler. He died Nov. 21, 1724, and his wife died May 25, 

1736. . 

His son, Capt. John Smith, born June 14, 1704, married May 
10, 1727, Temperance Holmes, daughter of Joshua and Fear 
(Sturges) Holmes. They lived in Groton and later in Colchester. 
He was buried in Poquonoc. His widow married, second, James 
Tread way, of Colchester. [E. G.] 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I55 

THE STANTON FAMILY. 

The first ancestor of the Ledyard Stantons, resident in this 
conntr}-, was Thomas Stanton, who bore a very prominent part 
among the early settlers. He embarked at London, England, 
Jan. 2,1635, in the merchantman "Bonaventnra." He went to 
Virginia ; but evidently did not stay there very long, for in the 
next year, 1636, he appears on record in Boston, serving as a 
magistrate. The next we know of him is in connection wath the 
Pequot War. In this war he came near losing his life in the 
battle of Fairfield Swamp. Soon after this he returned to Bos- 
ton ; but how long he remained there we are not informed. 
Some time about 1637-8, he was married to Ann Lord, daughter 
of Dr. Thomas and Dorothy Lord, of Hartford ; and from this 
time on for quite a number of years his home was in Hartford, 
though he seems to have been called away from there quite 
frequently on official business, particularly as an Indian interpre- 
ter. He probably went to Pequot (New London) in 165 1 and in 
1658, to his permanent home in Stouington, where he had al- 
ready established a trading post on the Poquetuck river, upon 
a 300 acre tract of land, granted to him as early as 1652. A 
descendant of Mr. Stanton, Rev. William A. Stanton, D. D., com- 
piler of the "Stanton Genealogy," truly says ol him : ''Mr. Stan- 
ton's prominence, in the afifairs of colonial Connecticut, can l^e 
best estimated by the possibility of so much about him being 
secured from contemporaneous history after a lapse ol twO' and a 
half centuries. As interpreter for Connecticut and for Gov. 
Winthrop, as interpreter-general of the New England Colonies, 
as co'unty commissioner and judge for twelve consecutive years, 
as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly for seven 
years, as Indian commissioner for many years, as a successful, 
all around man of afifairs, as a worthy husband, father, citizen 
and Christian, the descendants of Thomas Stanton have every 
reason to be proud of their emigrant ancestor." 

Miss Caulkins, in her "History of New London," speaks oi 
him, as an interpreter, in these words : "Never, perhaps, did the 
acquisition of a barbarous language give a man such immediate 



156 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

wide-Spread and lasting importance. From the year 1636, when 
he was Winthrop's interpreter with the Nahantic sachem, to 1670, 
when Uncas visited him with a train of warriors and captains, to 
get him to write his will, his name is connected with almost every 
Indian transaction on record." And it is an interesting fact that 
all of his sons seem to have inhel"ited their father's ability to 
speak the Indian dialects, and were in much demand as inter- 
preters. 

Children of Thomas and Ann (Lord) Stanton : 
Thomas, born 1638, married Sarah Denison, died April 11, 
1718. 

John, born 1641, married 1664. Hannah Thompson, died Oct. 

z, 1713- 

Mary, born 1643, married Samuel Rogers, Nov. 17, 1662. 

Hannah, born 1644, married Nov. 20, 1662, Nehemiah Palmer. 

Joseph, born 1646, married June 19, 1673, Hannah Mead; 
married Aug. 23, 1677, Hannah Lord; married two more wives, 
the fourth probably being a Miss Prentice. He died 1714. 

Daniel, born 1648, married and died in Barbadoes; he died 
before 1688, and left one son, Richard. 

Dorothy, born 165 1, married Rev. James Noyes, Sept. 11, 
1674. died Jan. 19, 1742. 

Robert, born 1653, married Joanna Gardiner, Nov. 12, 1677, 
died Oct. 25, 1724. 

Sarah, born 1655, married ist, Thomas Prentice; 2nd, Will- 
iam Denison; died 1713. 

Samuel, born 1657, married Borodell Denison, June 16, 1680, 
died not before 1698. 

All of these ten children lived to^ have children of their own. 

The descendants of Thomas and Ann (Lord) Stanton have 
been very numerous, and have been very widely scattered. Dur- 
ing the early generations many of them resided in Stonington. 
Hence we find on the records of the First Church, founded in 
1674, of which Mr. Stanton was one of the first members, and his 
son-in-law, Rev. James Noyes, the first pastor, that between the 
years 1674 and 1842 no less than 156 persons by the name of 
Stanton were baptized; between the years 1674 and 1856, 61 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 157 

persons received into full communion; and between 1715 and 
1871, 83 couples, in which one of the parties was a Stanton, were 
united in marriage. 

Thomas Stanton is the first name on the roll of members, 
and Thomas Stanton, Jr., is the sixth. Ann, wife of Thomas 
Stanton, Sen., became a member in 1675. Some pastors failed to 
leave on record their baptisms, etc. This fact accounts for 
periods during which the family is apparently not represented in 
the church. At the same time it is a well-established claim that 
at no period during the entire history of the church has it been 
without descendants of Thomas Stantton among its members. 

In each of the wars in which the conntry has been engaged, 
the Stantons have borne a prominent part. 'Tt is worthy of 
note," says the genealo'gist of the family, "that from the Pequot 
War in 1636 to the Civil War in 1861-5, there was nc co'lonial 
or national war in which onr family was not well represented 
among it country's defenders. In the massacre at Fort Griswold, 
Sept. 6, 1781, four of the Stanton family were victims. Quite 
a number rendered valuable services in the War of 1812-15; and 
one of them, Phineas Stanton (1780- 1842), became a major-gen- 
eral. In the Civil War, of 1861-5, no less than thirty-six Stan- 
tons are known to have served, some as privates, quite a nurnber 
as officers of various rank from corporal up to colonel and 
b ri ga d i er- ge n e ral . 

Some have engaged in the naval service. Thomas Stanton, 
son of Daniel, and a descendant of the first Thomas in the fifth 
generation, was with that famous naval co^mmander, John Paul 
Jones, on board the "Bon Homme Richard," and was killed in a 
naval battle off the coast of Scotland. John Stanton (born 1758), 
son of Nathaniel, and a descendant of the first Thomas in the 
fifth generation, was in the privateer service in the time of the 
Revolution ; was captured and confined for a long time on the 
infamous Jersey prison ship. Afterward, when France was at 
war with England, he enlisted in her marine service and remained 
in it quite a number of years, that he might (to* use his own 
words) "have his revenge upon England for the injury she had 
done him." 



158 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

The Stantons have been engaged in almost every industrial 
emplo'}'nient that has been opened to them. Many have been 
farmers ; many mechanics and merchants and not a few sea- 
faring men. Goodly numbers have entered the learned profes- 
sions, and a fair percentage of them have acquired honorable 
distinction. Dr. Daniel Stanton (i 799-1884), of Mount Pleasant, 

Pa., Dr. George D. Stanton (1839 ), of Stonington, and others 

have ranked well in the medical profession. Judge Joshua Stan- 
ton (1740 ), of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont; 

Hon. Joseph Stanton (1739-1842), member of Congress from 

Rhode Island; Hon. Lewis E. Stanton (1833 ), of Hartford, 

Conn. ; and others have acquired a good degree of distinction as 
lawyers and civilians. Henry Brewster Stanton (1805-1887), of 
Connecticut and New York, husband of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 
was quite celebrated in his day as a philanthropist and reformer; 
and his wife was perhaps more celebrated than he. Rev. Robert 
Stanton (1751-1821), pastor of Baptist Churches in Stonington 
and Woodstock, Conn.; Rev. Benjamin F. Stanton, (1789-1843), 
pastor of Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in New 
York and Connecticut; Rev. Robert P. Stanton (1818-1898), for 
many years pastor of the Congregational Church in Greeneville, 

Conn.; Rev. William A. Stanton (1854 ), pastor of Baptist 

Churches in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania ; and many 
more have stood well in the clerical profession. 

THE STODDARD FAMILY. 

The name Stoddard has been found in history as far back as 
1060. There is a tradition that there was a noble Norman by the 
name of Stoddard with William w'hen he invaded England in 
1066, and that he was a relative of the famous Conqueror. 
Families hearing the name have lived in England, Scotland, 
Ireland and Wales. All the Stoddards in this country claim the 
same coat of arms, a fact which points to a common ancestry. 

Anthony Stoddard and three ]ohn Stoddards came from Eng- 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. I59 

land to this country about 1638. Anthony settled in Boston, 
and became a successful merchant. One of the Johns settled in 
Hing-ham, Mass.; another in Newington or Wethersfield, Conn.; 
and the remaining one, from whom the Stoddards in Groton 
(Ledyard) are descended, was first at Hingham, later at Say- 
brook, and about 165 1, in New London. Grants of land were 
made to him in New London, also at Stoddard's landing on the 
Thames river. Portions of this last named grant are still in the 
possession of one of his descendants. He married Catherine 
, and had four sons. His posterity is numerous and re- 
spectable. He died in 1676, ag'ed 64. 

His son, Robert Stoddard, born about 1654, married Mary 
Mortimer, daughter of Thomas Mortimer, about 1684. 

Robert Stoddard, Jr., of the third generation, son of Robert 
and Mary, born in 1700, married in 1728 Bathsheba Rogers, 
daughter of John Rogers. 

Mark Stoddard of the fourth generation, son of Robert, Jr., 
and Bathsheba, born in 1743, married in 1768 Lucy AUyn, daugh- 
ter of Samuel Allyn. Mark Stoddard was a farmer by occupa- 
tion. He was also a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and par- 
ticipated in the battle of Bunker Hill. He died March 8, 1829, 
aged 85. His wife Lucy (Allyn) Stoddard died July 29, 1831, 
aged 84. 

Stephen Stoddard, of the fifth generation, son of Mark and 
Lucy (Allyn) Stoddard, born in 1788, married in 1810 Sarah 
Morgan, daughter of Stephen Morgan. He was a farmer. He 
served in the War of 1812-15, later as captain of militia. 

Stephen M. Stoddard, oi the sixth generation, son of Stephen 
and Sarah (Morgan) Stoddard, born 1810, married in 1838 Hen- 
rietta Allyn, daughter of Col. Roswell Allyn. In early life he 
went to sea, and made several whaling voyages out of New Lon- 
don. Later he settled on the homestead of his father, and spent 
the rest of his life in farming. He died in 1879, aged 69; his 
wife in 1887, aged 75. 

Ebenezer Stoddard, son of Stephen, in early manhood, fol- 
lowed the sea, and during the Civil War served in the Navy and 
was sailing-master on board the "Kearsarge" at time of the bat- 



i6o 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



tie off the coast of France 
with the rebel "Alabama." 
He was married at Ports- 
mouth, N. H., and later on 
lived for a while in Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 

James Allyn Stoddard, of 
the seventh generation, son 
of Stephen M. and Hen- 
rietta (Allyn) Stoddard, 
born Oct. i8, 1848, mar- 
ried Sept. 10, 1873, Anna 
Alariah Davidson. Their 
children were Henrietta, 
born Nov. 9, 1874, married 
John P'innigan, 1892. 

Stephen Denison, born 
Dec. I, 1877. 

Albert Morgan, born Jan.. 19, 1881. 

Mrs. Anna Mariah Stoddard, died March 10, 1892, aged 42. 

Mr. James A. Stoddard, married Dec. 28, 1892, Miss Amey 
Jane Hopkins, of Norwich. 

The Stoddards have generally been farmers. Quite a num- 
ber of them have been seafaring men, and several, like Sanford 
Stoddard (1779- 1860) and his son, Sanford Billings Stoddard 
(1813-1892), have, as sea captains, developed much enterprise 
and achieved a high degree of success. 




Ebenezer Stoddard. 



THE WILLIAMS FAMILY. 

Denison Billings Williams, the second son of Deacon Eleazar 
Williams, was born March 2, 1794, in the old homestead, on 
Williams Hill, Stonington, Conn. He married twice; first, 
Hannah Avery, of Groton, daughter of Youngs Avery, and 
grand-daughter of Caleb Avery (the old soldier), and Han- 
nah Latham, daughter of Capt. Wm. Latham, descendant of 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 



i6i 




Cary Latham, two of the oldest English families in this country. 
His second wife was Eliza Avery, daughter of Park Avery, of 

Groton. After spending a 
few years in Norwich, he 
removed to Ledyard. In 
1829, he bought a farm 
about a mile south of the 
village of Poquetanuck, 
and there made his home, 
in connection with farm- 
ing; he held town offices, 
settled estates, and was 
justice of the peace. 

He also bought large 
quantities of wool in all 
the surrounding towns for 
the various mills. He was 
a member of the Congre- 
gational Church in Led- 
Denison b. Williams. yard, and when his hair 

was white, did not think he 
was too old to attend the Sunday-school. 

His two oldest children were boirn in Stonington, and seven 
in Ledyard, and at Thanksgiving time they all came home, both 
cliildren and grand-children, where saucer pies and little cakes 
were plenty. In 1861 he sold his farm, and moved back to the 
old homestead, where so many of his family had lived and died. 
Later, he moved to Preston (Bridge) and bought a home on what 
is now Williams street, taking his name. He died Feb. 26, 1867, 
aged 72 years. The children of Denison were 
Mary Esther, booi March 13, 1818. 

Denison Billings, born June 30, 1819, died Feb. 23, 1867. 
Cecelia Hannah, born July 9, 1822, died Jan. 30, 1893. 
Luke Latham, born Jan. 12, 1824, died Feb. 15, 1859. 
Park Avery, born Feb. 28, 1826, died Aug. 31, 1892. 
Eunice Avery, born March i, 1828. 
Benjamin Frank, born April 26, 1830, died March 17, 1893. 

11 



l62 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Yoiings Avery, born May 25, 1833, died Aug. 24, 1865. 

Elam Vanderpool, born July i, 1837. died March 9, 1849. 
Yoiungs Avery was a graduate of Rutgers College, and an 
exemplary and promising yoimg man. At the time of his death 
he was studying law with the Hon. John Turner Wait and had 
already been admitted to- the bar. 

Denisoii Billings Williams descended from Robert Williams, 
of Roxbury, Mass., whose ancestry, in Wales, can be traced far 
back into the Ninth Century. He was born in Great Yarmouth, 
England, 1598. He married Elizabeth Stratton of the same 
place, and came to New England in the ship "Rose," in 1635, 
and lived to the great age of 100 years. Their descendants have 
been prominent in building up, and supporting the civil, educa- 
tioual, and religious institutions of their country. 

One of his descendants, William Williams, of Lebanon, 
Conn., was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
He married Mary Trumbull, daughter of Governor Trumbull, of 
Connecticut. 

His secoiid sou, Isaac, born in Ro^xbury, 1638, settled on 
five himdred acres of land in Newtown (Newton), then included 
in Cambridge, Mass. He was a deacon in the church, and rep- 
resented NewtO'wn in the General Assembly, foir six years. From 
his son, by a second marriage, was descended the Rev. John 
Williams, the learned and revered Bishop of Connecticut. 

Eleazar, of Roxbury, the fourth son of Isaac, by his first 
marriage, with Martha Park, came to Coinnecticut, first to 
Lebanon, then to Stonington, Coun. He purchased in 1712, a 
tract of land on "Williams Hill" (now known as "Quagataug 
Hill"), and built a house, where he lived till his death in 1725. 
He and his wife (Mary Hyde) were members of the "Road" 
Church in Stonington. 

Nehemiah, son of Eleazar, was twice married ; his first wife 
was Deborah Williams, and Gen. Joseph Warren, who dies at 
Bunker Hill, was their grand-son. 

Eleazer, second son of Nehemiah, was born Aug., 1730, 



FAMILY HISTORIES AND GENEALOGIES. 163 

baptized October, 1730, and was the first person baptized in the 
new meeting-house on Agreement Hill, Stonington, Conn. He 
married Abigail Prentice. 

Deacon Eleazar, son of Eleazar and father of Denison, was 
born June, 1759, married Mary Billings, Nov. 5, 1786, and died 
March 20, 1814. He lived in the homestead on "Williams Hill ;" 
made farming his principal business. He was deacon in the 
church, and served in the Revolutionary Army. His great- 
granddaughter, Mrs. Josephine Middleton, now owns the home- 
stead. [P. E. L.] 



CHAPTER XII. 
Biographical Sketches. 

Col. Roswell Allyn, son of James and Anna (Stanton) 
Allyn, was born in North Groton (Ledyard), July ii, 1789. In 
the spring of 1806 he commenced as an apprentice at tanning, 
currying and shoemaking, just north of Preston hne, at the 
place where later was the grist and saw-mill of the late Jonah 
Witter. He served two years there with a Mr. Capron. In the 
spring of 1808 he began as a journeyman with a Mr. Wood- 
bridge at the head of Mystic, where he worked two years. In 
1810 he set up a small tannery near where he was born and where 
he afterward lived most oi the time, and where he died Aug. 11, 
i860. He was twice a representative from Groton in the State 
Legislature ; the first time with Hon. Elisha Haley, who was af- 
terwards in Congress. He held several town offices in Groton, 
In 1836, after Ledyard became a town, he was appointed sherifif's 
deputy by Alex. Stewart, then sheriff of New London County. 
He resigned this to become qualified to act as representative for 
Ledyard, being elected in April, 1843. He held town offices at 
various times in Ledyard. He belonged to the order of Free 
Masons. In early life he enlisted in the troop and when that 
was disbanded he served in infantry and held offices in company 
and regiment. In 181 1 he married Henrietta Morgan, of 
Groton, whose children were Henrietta, born 181 2, who after- 
ward married Stephen M. Stoddard, of Ledyard, and who' died 
his widow in 1887. Deborah A., died July 23, 1814, aged 10 
months, 14 days. Emila, died Aug. 13, 1815, aged six weeks. 
His wife died Sept. 2y, 1824. In June, 1826, he married Harriet 
Palmer, of Preston, who died Sept. 14, 1888. Her children were 
Palmer, born April 26, 1827. Stanton, born Aug. 23, 1835, and 
who died in the army in Louisiana, Aug. 28, 1863. [P. A.] 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



165 



Lieut. Stanton Allyn, son of Roswell and Harriet 
(Palmer) Allyn, was born Aug. 23, 1835, in North Groton, on the 
old fann next north of the Bill parsonage, where his father was 
l)orn. In 1840 his father moved back to the tannery which he 
had left in 1834. When old enough to work he was employed at 

tanning and farm- 
ing, with the ex- 
ception of two 
winter terms 
when he taught 
school. He had a 
common school 
education, sup- 
plemented with 
instruction by 
Mr. Joseph H. 
Gallup for a short 
time. He had 
held some im- 
portant town of- 
fices in Ledyard 
when the Civil 
War broke out 
in the spring of 
1861. He was 
very anxious to 
enlist in the three 
months' service, 
but was prevent- 
ed by private bus- 
iness. In the fall 
of 1 86 1 he re- 
cruited a portion of a company and with them went into camp 
at Hartford the last of November. He was commissioned as 
second lieutenant of Company K, Twelfth Regiment, Connecti- 
cut Volunteers. The regiment stayed in camp till the last of 
February, 1862, when they left for Ship Island, Miss., where they 




Lieut. Stanton Allyn. 



l66 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

remained till New Orleans was captured in April, 1862. They 
occupied Camp Parapet, La., for a while. The first time the 
regiment was under fire was Oct. 27, 1862, when one man was 
killed from Company K. In the spring of 1863 he went with 
the regiment into the region of the Red river. Here they were 
at one time in battle for about three days, when one morning 
the rebel works were found to be evacuated. The regiment fol- 
lowed in pursuit, but Allyn was taken ill with malaria and had to 
return to New Orleans, where he went to the hospital and stayed 
until the last of May, 1863. He went with his regiment to Port 
Hudson, where General Banks called for a picked company of 
men to make an assault. Allyn volunteered and nearly reached 
the rebel works, but was obliged to seek shelter under the same 
till night came and he was rescued, but it was a terrible trial 
and required greatest of bravery. He had been recovering from 
sickness and was poorly able tO' endure the conflict at Port Hud- 
son. He stayed in camp till Port Hudson surrendered. He 
with his company and three other companies were engaged on 
the night of June loth and nth, where several men were killed 
and wounded, almost under the rebel works. Also on June 14, 
and at other times. They were under fire much oi the time 
during the siege. Port Hudson surrendered July 9th and the 
regiment soon after left for Brashaer City, Louisiana. Weak- 
ened as he had been by sickness the service at Port Hudson was 
too much for him, and after a few days' sickness at Brashaer 
City, he died Aug. 28, 1863. His body was brought home and 
buried in the Allyn burying ground on the Charles Allyn farm, 
now A. W. Gray's farm. 

The following extract from an article on 'Tort Hudson" in 
Harper's Magazine for August, 1867, gives us some idea of the 
character and bearing of Mr. Allyn as a military officer. 

"At last daylight appeared. * * * * Lieut. Allyn of 
Company K, now arrived from lower down the ravine, and went 
into the lines after the stragglers of his command. Re-appear- 
ing in the course of a few minutes with a dozen men, he had to 
expose himself recklessly in order to shame certain demoralized 
ones intO' advancing over the fatal knoll behind us. He was 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 167 

admirable as he walked slowly to and fro at his full height, say- 
ing, calmly, 'Come along, men ; you see there is no danger.' Old 
Putnam, galloping up and down Charlestown Neck, to en- 
courage the Provincials through the ricocheting of the British 
army, was no finer." 

Lieut. AUyn was not only a noble specimen of manhood, 
physically, but mentally as well. He was known perhaps as the 
best, or one of the best scholars in the town for his years, and 
perhaps the most promising of all the youth of Ledyard in those 
days. He was given a sash and sword by his admiring friends 
early in his military career. [P. A.] 

Capt. Gurdon Lathrop Allyn was in the direct line of 
descent from Robert Allyn, who came from Salem, Mass., to 
New London in 165 1. He was a son of Nathan and Hannah 
(Lester) Allyn and was born at Gale's Ferry, Dec. 2^, 1799. 
His surroundings in childhood and youth evidently determined 
his subsequent career. Froni his earliest years he was familiar 
with men and boys connected with the sea-faring life and heard 
from them many narratives that were fascinating to him. He 
was an eye-witness of scenes and events which early awakened 
in him desires and aspirations which could only be satisfied b)^ 
actual experiences upon broader waters than those of the Thames 
river, and among other peoples than those whO' dwelt in and 
near Gale's Ferry. Hence he embraced the first opportunity of 
acquainting himself with "life on the ocean wave," by personal 
participation in its varied and trying experiences. Flis first trip 
was with bis father to Newport, when only nine years of age. 
Some two years later he was with his father on a sloop bound 
from Gale's Ferry to Staten Island for oysters. They encoun- 
tered a terrible gale on the Sound in which many vessels were 
wrecked. But thev made a port on Long Island in a disabled 
condition and after necessary repairs finished the round trip 
with success. One might think that such a trying experience 
would cure a boy ol his longings for the sea, but as a matter of 
fact it seems to have had the opposite efTect. For about as soon 
as he could do so to advantage, he was studying navigation under 



l68 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

an experienced teacher, fitting himself for the calling which he 
intended to pursue. 

A year or two later he is on the sea, mate of a sloop, of which 
Capt. Christopher Allyn is master, carrying rice and cotton from 
Charleston, S. C, to New York. 

The next year he is master of the same vessel engaged in the 
West India trade, and in one year's time and before he was twen- 
tv-one years of age, he earned for the owner, Mr. Hyde, of Nor- 
wich, more money than he had paid for the vessel. 

■ From this time, for several years, he made many voyages 
between New London, Hartford and New York, on the north, 
and various ports in the Southern States, West India Islands and 
northern coast of South America. Sometimes his enterprises 
were very successful and at other times quite the reverse. 

In 1829. when about thirty years of age, Capt. Allyn attempt- 
ed a longer voyage. As master of the schooner "Spark," 
manned by sixteen seamen, he sailed from New London for the 
South African coast, in pursuit of seal-skins. After an absence 
of fourteen months, he returned to- New London, having made 
a voyage which was very satisfactory to all concerned. 

In 1832 he made a similar voyage, to the region of Cape Horn, 
and in 1834 still another. 

In 1842 he went tO' the Indian Ocean, in the schooner 
"Franklin," for whale and sea-elephant oil and returned safely, 
making a profitable voyage. In 1844-5 'ic was master of the 
ship "Brookline," in which he conveyed a cargo of guanO' from 
an African Island tO' Boston. After that as master of the ship 
"Charles Henry," he circumnavigated the globe, in pursuit of 
whale oil and made a profitable voyage. After that he made 
three successful voyages between New London and Patagonia 
for guano, twice in the ship "Palladium," and once in the bark 
"Iris." Afterwards he made two more voyages around the world, 
one in a new bark, the "N. S. Perkins," which was very profita- 
ble, and the other in the bark "Tempest." On one of these long 
voyages he was accompanied by his wife and daughter. On an- 
other his wife and the wife of his mate were on board. 

On the return from one of these voyages, they had sighted 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. l6q 

Long Island, when the captain, wearied with watching, left the 
vessel in charge of his mate, who disregarded the captain's orders, 
ran the ship aground on the south side of Long Island, where she 
became a wreck ; but the ship was insured and the cargo of oil 
was saved. In May, 1861, Capt. Allyn obtained a commission as 
acting master and coast pilot in the United States Navy, and 
received an order in June, from Com. Dupont, tO' report for 
duty on the United States frigate, "Saint Lawrence." He was a 
participant in the famous Merrimac and Monitor engagement at 
Hampton Roads, in March, 1862. He had an honorable career 
in the navy, and in due time was discharged on account of his 
age. His salary while in the service, and the prize-money and 
pension, which he afterwards received, were a great help to him 
in his declining years. 

Capt. Allyn was married Oct. 13, 1822, to Miss Sally Sher- 
wood Bradford, of Gale's Ferry, a descendant in the seventh 
generation from Gov. Wm. Bradford, who' came over in the 
"Mayflower." They had five children, four sons and one daugh- 
ter, but were survived by only twO', Gurdon F. Allyn, of Salem, 
Conn., and Mrs. Sarah E. Latham, of Gale's Ferry. 

Capt. Allyn and his wife moved fromi Gale's Ferry tO' Salem, 
Conn., in 1839, when the captain took a three years' respite from 
sea-faring, by managing a farm and a saw-mill and grist-mill, but 
they returned to the Ferry in 1863 and spent the closing years 
of their lives amid the scenes of their childhood. 

After living together as husband and wife, nearly 66 years, 
Mrs. Allyn was called away on August 16, 1888. Just three years 
after, on Aug. 16, 1891, Capt. Allyn followed at the advanced age 
of 91 years, 7 months, 24 days. 

[For a fuller account of Capt. Allvn, see his autobiographvj. 

[T. L.] 

Rev. Robert Allyn, D. D., LL.D., son of Charles and Lois 
(Gallup) Allyn, was born in North Groton (Ledyard), Jan. 24, 
181 7, on the farm now owned by A. W. Gray. His youth was 
spent in work oil the farm and study in the district school ; first 
in North Groton, then in Montville, whither the family moved 



170 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

in his boyhood. After a season of preparation in Bacon Acade- 
my, Colchester, he commenced his career as a teacher in East 
Lyme. He fitted for college at Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, 
Mass., teaching at intervals while doing so. Taking the four 
years' course at Wesleyan University, Middletown, he was gradu- 
ated at that institution in 1841. About this date uniting with the 
N. E. Southern Conference he supplied for a time the Methodist 
Church in Colchester, also that at Thompsonville, Ct. Being in- 
vited erelong to be teacher of mathematics in Wilbriham Academy 
he accepted ; and in 1845 became principal of that institution. 
Under his management its number of students was increased and 
its reputation in the matter of schoilarship advanced. He resigned 
this place to accept the position of principal and financial agent 
of the East Greenwich Academy in Rhode Island in 1848, and 
remained in that position till 1854, when he was appointed com- 
missioner of public instruction in that State. He held the office 
for three years, when he was chosen to represent the town in the 
State Legislature for the years 1852 and '54. In 1854 he was 
appointed by the President of the United States, and commis- 
sioned by the Secretary of War, Jeiiferson Davis, visitor at West 
Point Military Academy, Robert E. Lee being superintendent of 
the Academy at that time. While holding this position he 
formed many valuable acquaintances, and greatly profited by 
observing the methods of instruction employed in the institution. 
In 1857 he removed to Athens, Ohio, and became professor of 
Greek and Latin in the Ohio University, located at that place. 
At the end of two years he removed to Cincinnati and became 
president of the Wesleyan Female College in that city, and re- 
mained there till 1863, when he resigned to accept the presidency 
of McKendree College in Lebanon, 111. Here he continued till 
1874, and then was chosen to be principal of the Illinois Normal 
University which the State was just opening at Carbondale. 
Here, to a certain extent, he was enabled to- carry out his ideas 
of what an American school should be. The male students in 
the institution practiced in infantry and artillery each day, taught 
by a regular cadet from West Point. After resigning this posi- 
tion in 1 89 1 he continued to reside in the place till the time of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



171 



his death, which occurred Jan. 7, 1894. The honorary degrees 
of D. D. and LL.D. were conferred upon him by his alma mater. 
FrofessoT Allyn was married Nov. 16, 1841, to Miss EmeHne 
Denison, of Colerain, Mass. After becoming- the mother of two 
children, a son and a daughter, Mrs. Allyn died April 24, 1844. 
On June 24, 1845, Mr. Allyn was married to Miss Mary Budding- 
ton, of Leyden, Mass. Two sons and two daughters were the 
fruits of this marriage. [In part from New London County 
Historvl. 



Israel Allyn, Esq., son of Abel and Mary (Hakes) Allyn, 
was born in North Groton, May 13, 1822. His education was 

in the public schools, be- 
ing supplemented by sev- 
eral terms of attendance 
upon select schools. He 
began to teach pretty early 
in life and continued in the 
work nine winters and two 
summers. Later he served 
as a travelling agent for the 
Henry Bill Publishing Co., 
and remained in the serv- 
ice twenty years, achieving 
eminent success. After 
giving up the book busi- 
ness he settled down 011 the 
old homestead as a farmer, 
married and reared a fami- 
ly. His wife was Miss 
Mary Ann Williams, to whom he was married Nov. 25, 1873. 
They had two sons and one daughter. Mr. Allyn and his wife 
were both members and supporters of the Congregational 
Church, and he was superintendent of the Sunday-school for 
quite a numl^er of years. Among the town offices which he 
held were those of selectman and judge of probate. He repre- 
sented the town in the State Legislature in 1869. His death 




Israel, Allyn, Esq. 



1^2. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LED YARD. 

occurred Jan. 22, 1897. He early invested in wild lands in Iowa 
which, later on, became valuable, and made him quite wealthy. 
He becjueathed one thousand dollars to the Congregational 
Church. 

Edward Avery, who' with his brother Christopher, settled 
in the north- west corner of Grot 011 (now Ledyard), was the 
second son of James Avery, Jr., and if the recorded dates are 
correct he was born March 20, 1676, just seven days before his 
father left Norwich as lieutenant in his father's company, on the 
expedition intO' the Narragansett country during King Philip's 
war, when the sachem Canoochet was captured, whose capture 
and death was really the death blow of the war. He married 
Joanna Rose, June 3, 1699, daughter of Thomas Rose, whose 
house stood on Rose Hill, and became a noted landmark, being 
near the boundry line between Preston and Groton and near the 
south-east corner of the nine-miles square, the original claim of 
Norwich. He built him a home on the west side of what is 
now called Avery Hill near Poquetanuck cove. Here he and 
his wife Joanna lived to a ripe old age, sixty years of married 
life. They had thirteen children — ^a baker's dozen — and nearly 
all of them lived to mature age and married. He died March 
14, 1759, and was buried in his own family burying ground, a 
well selected spot not far from his homse on a high bluff just 
back from Poquetanuck cove. 

Since then many of his own family have been gathered around 
him. His wife survived him less than two years. Their graves 
are marked by enduring stones, well lettered. His will dated Feb. 
I, 1752, was witnessed by Nathan Avery, Jacob Avery and Samuel 
Hutchinson, and approved June 19, 1759, by G. Saltonstall, judge 
of probate. An inventory taken after his death of his w^earing 
apparel and household goods contained a long list. Tlie follow- 
ing are a few of the many articles mentioned : Seven coats, one 
full suit, a beaver hat, eleven pair hose, three pair shoes, six 
linen shirts, a silver-headed cane, a wearing sword and three 
belts, a pistol, two cutlasses, two guns and live flints, a drum, a 
Bible and eleven books, seventeen chairs, a spoon mould, two 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I73 

button moulds, three shot moulds, and bullet mould, a looking 
glass, an hour glass, warming pan, two coffee-pots, tea-pot, spice 
mill, chopping knife, seven iron pots, four brass kettles, tea ket- 
tle, lignum-vitge mortar, eight tubs, nine trays, three sugar boxes, 
ivory handle knife and fork, case of knives and forks, linen table 
cloth and napkins, tea and saucers. [B. T. A.] 

Capt. Christopher Avery, was born in Groton, Jan. 25, 
1679-80. His parents were James Avery, 2nd, and Deborah 
(Stallyon) Avery. Both he and his brother Edward settled on 
Avery Hill in North Groton (now Ledyard), a mile or two south 
of Pocjuetanuck, probably on lands granted to their grandfather, 
James Avery, ist, in 1653. He appears to- have been a very in- 
fluential and useful man. In the militia he held successively the 
offices of ensign, lieutenant, and captain. He was also justice 
of the peace, town clerk, clerk of the ecclesiastical society, and 
was retained in some of these offices many years in succession. 
The first pew in the North Groton meeting-house was built by 
him, so say the society records. For a considerable time after 
the recognition of North Groton as a separate parish, the pro^- 
fessors of religion residing there were connected with the church 
in the South Society. On a catalogue of these professors, drawn 
up Nov. 22, 1727, containing abont forty names, appear the 
names of Christopher Avery and wife, Edward Avery and wife, 
and Christopher Avery, Jr. The subject of this sketch was mar- 
ried Dec. 19, 1704, to Abigail Park, daughter of Capt. John Park, 
of Preston. This wife bore him four children — John, Abigail, 
Christopher and Nathan, and died Feb. 12, 1713. On April 14, 
1714, he was married to Mrs. Prudence (Payson) Wheeler, widow 
of Richard Wheeler, of Stonington. Her first marriage was 
solemnized in Roxbury, Mass., where she probably belonged. 
She had three sons and a daughter by her first husband. Her 
children by Mr. Avery were Priscilla, Isaac, Jacob and Temper- 
ance. After the death of his second wife, Mr. Avery was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Esther (Hammond) Prentice. This wife also died 
before him. And in his will, made in 1752, the year before his 
own death, he speaks of his "wife Susanna," whom tradition a!- 



174 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

firms to have been a Stoddard. A partial inventory of property, 
appended to his will, gives the value of his homiestead farm as 
£10,000 (old tenor?), Brewster's Neck farm of 70 acres, £2,500; 
his negroes, Jude, £500; Jenne, £260; Nero, £530; Lydia, 
£260; Sarah, £240; and Tom, £210. In the year 1888 a plain 
obelisk of brown stone, commemorating the memory of Mr. 
Avery and his four wives, was placed over their graves in the 
cemetery on the east side of Avery Hill, the expense being borne 
by several of his descendants. 

Rev. Nathan Avery, son of Capt. Christopher and Abigail 
(Parke) Avery, was born in North Groton, March 10, 171 2. He 
was ordained pastor of the Separate or Strict Congregational 
Church in North Stonington, April 25, 1759; died in the twenty- 
second year of his ministry. Sept, 7, 1780. He was married 
March 21, 1746, to Hannah Stoddard. They had four sons and 
three daughters. Mrs. Avery died Oct. 10, 1810. 

Rev. Christopher Avery, son of Christopher Avery, Jr., 
and Eunice (Prentice) Avery, was born in North Groton, Jan. 23, 
1737-8. He succeeded his uncle. Rev. Nathan Avery, in the 
pastorate of the Separate Church in North Stonington, Nov. -29. 
1786, and continued to minister to this church till the time of his 
death, which occurred July 5, 1819. His grave marked by a 
large white marble slab, is on Wintechog Hill. He was mar- 
ried, first, to Dorothy Heath, Dec. 16, 1763. By her he had five 
children, four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Avery died June 
14, 1803, aged 61. Mr. Avery was married again, Nov. 7, 1803, 
to Miss Mary Eldridge, who oiut-lived him some nineteen or 
twenty years, dying Dec. 7, 1848, aged 89. 

PIenry William Avery, Esq., was born in Groton, Oct. 12, 
1795, the son of Col. Ebenezer and Mary (Eldredge) Avery, and 
grandson of Ebenezer Avery, Jr., who was slain in Fort Gris- 
wold, at the British massacre, Sept. 6, 1781. He .was of the 
eighth generation from Christopher Avery who came from 
Salisbury, England, in 1630, and settled in Gloucester, Mass. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



175 



Through his mother he was of the eighth generation from Elder 
William Brewster of the Mayflower. His education was gained 
in the district school of his home opposite the New London fort, 
the house of his parents and grandparents still (1900) standing. 
At the close of school age the family moved to the house in 
Xorth Groton which, in 1836, became the south-east house in 
the new town of I.edyard. At the age of seventeen he served 

about two months in the 
War of 1 81 2. When nine- 
teen years old he united 
with the First Congrega- 
tional Church in Groton, 
under the ministry of Rev. 
Timothy Tuttle, after- 
wards, by letter, Feb. 22, 
1835, with the Congrega- 
tional Church in North 
Groton (Ledyard), under 
the same ministry. He was 
married Nov. 27, 181 7, to 
Betsey, davighter of Fred- 
erick and Hannah (Fish) 
Denison. As justice of the 
peace his services were re- 
garded as very valuable in 
adjusting difficulties and 
reconciling contending parties. For many years he held the 
position of judge of probate, rendering kindly and faithful serv- 
ices in the fulfillment of the delicate duties of that office. 'He 
was ever helpful in his relation to the church, usually among the 
first to reach the Sabbath services with his family in a drive of 
five miles. As teacher and superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school he showed his loving devotion to the spiritual interests 
of the young. He had the charge of the large farm where, with 
his parents, he resided for thirty years, giving his loving and 
faithful care to his aged parents while they lived. When this 
filial service was no longer needed, he laid aside the responsibili- 




Henrt W. Avery, Esq. 



176 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

ties and labors of his active life, and with his wife moved to 
Belvidere, 111., to live in the house which he built on the prairie 
for the use of himself and his son who preceded him, a few years, 
to that place. The rest of his days were spent in comparative 
quiet, yielding what labors he pleased to his garden and the 
farm of his son. On his removal from Ledyard he connected 
himself with the Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, and con- 
tinued to be a punctual attendant- at the Sabbath services as long 
as strength permitted, and with as interested attention as his 
serious and prolonged defect of hearing would allow. The 
great and sore trial of his life was the sudden death of his de- 
voted companion in Belvidere, May 11, 1866, at the age of 66. 
He had hitherto lived much with his Bible, in private and family 
devotions, but when she who had walked on -with him from early 
manhood until near the jubilee was taken from him, then es- 
pecially the loved Book became his daily, almost hourly, com- 
panion, and this is his own record: "June 21, 1866, commenced 
reading Scott's Bible with notes and commentaries ; finished the 
first volume Nov. 15, 1866. Finished the second volume Dec. 
20, 1866. Finished third volume Jan. 14, 1867. Finished fourth 
volume Feb. 11, 1867. Finished fifth volume March 9, 1867. 
Finished sixth volume April 8, 1867." After that he read the 
Bible, in course without notes, so frequently, that his record 
shows that he had read it ninety-six times since April, 1867. 
The hours of the Sabbath were sacredly observed, secular papers 
and ordinary books being discarded, and sometimes three or four 
sermons being read instead. 

He retained an active mind and deep interest in passing 
events. His correspondence was quite extensive and continued 
to the last — the latest letter which came to him, a short time be- 
fore his death, being from his life-long friend and frequent cor- 
respondent, Jonathan Whipple, of Ledyard. The blessing of 
almost uninterrupted health and strength had been his through 
his long life. His last sickness kept him to his room and bed 
only twelve days, and, having no desire to abide, he went to his 
heavenly home March 5, 1883, aged 87 years, 4 months, 21 days. 
Two sons, Frederick U. and Henry W., survive. [F. D. A.] 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



177 



Rev. Frederick Denison Avery, son of Henry W. and 
Betsey (Denison) Avery, was born in the north-east corner house 
of the present town of Groton, Oct. 30, 1818. His childhood and 
youth was spent in the house a few rods above, now in the town 
of Led3'ard. Having graduated from the "Pumpkin HiU" school, 
he took a "short course" in the study of his pastor, Rev. Timothy 

Tuttle, whose daughter. 
Anna Maria, was his prin- 
cipal teacher. At the close 
of his farm life, when 
seventeen years old, in 
February, 1836, his father 
gave him a sleigli-ride, a 
week long, to^ Sherburne in 
Central New York, where 
he entered the shop of his 
uncle, Sidney Avery, to 
learn the cabinet trade. 
The first lesson, however, 
for him to learn was to be a 
Christian, as he passed im- 
mediately into- the pro- 
tracted meetings which his 
uncle wished all his family 
to attend. Very soon the 
great question of his life was decided, and, with many others he 
united with the Congregatiomal Church in Sherburne, in April, 
1836. In attendance upon the commencement exercises at 
Oneida Institute where his cousin, Colby C. Mitchel, was to 
graduate, his attention was earnestly directed by his cousin to 
the work of the gospel ministry. Having spent eighteen months 
in the cabinet shop he returned to his father's house to confer 
with his parents, and in a short time went to a proposed school 
in Derby, with Isaac Jennings as instructor. This enterprise 
failing, he followed his instructor to a classical school in New 
Haven, in preparation for college. He united, by letter, with 
the Congregational Church in Ledyard, March 3, 1839. After a 
12 




Rev. Frederick D. Avery. 



178 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

winter's practice as schoolmaster, boarding- around in the Union- 
ville district in Ledyard, he entered the freshman class in Yale 
College, in September, 1840, having two years previously secured 
the privilege and pecuniary aid and had the care of the chapel 
for his senior year. With a fair standing in his class of 104, he 
was graduated in 1844. Passing immediately into- the Yale Di- 
vinity School, he received his graduation there in 1847, ^^ ^ 
class of thirty-three, the Rev. John Avery, of Preston, being one. 
He was licensed to preach Aug. 12, 1846, by the New Haven 
West Association. Having preached two months in South King- 
ston, R. I., and two months in Exeter (Lebanon), tO' aid the 
minister in each place, and as stated supply in Eden, N. Y., 
fifteen months, he received a call from the Congregational 
Church in Columbia, Conn., where he was ordained and installed, 
June II, 1850. This pastorate terminated in accordance with the 
following announcement made July 14, 1895 : "To- the Congre- 
gational Church and Ecclesiastical Society : Forty-five years 
ago necessity was laid upon me to preach the gospel, and in this 
house taking the pastoral charge of the church and congrega- 
tion worshipping here. With this protracted service the neces- 
sity is now laid upon me to lay down this charge because of 
these accumulating years with my increasing disabilities, es- 
pecially my difficulty of hearing. I, therefore, hereby resign this 
pastorate, the resignation to take efifect on the thirty-first day 
of October, next. Afifectionately, Frederick D. Avery." At the 
beginning of his pastorate in that farming town, where there was 
no other church, the church numbered 118, and at its close 178. 
There were seven special revival seasons, and benevolent con- 
tributions vv'ere trebled. When his active service closed Mr. 
Avery, by vote of the church, became Pastor Emeritus. He was 
a member of the school board 36 years, a large portion of the 
time being acting school visitor. He has now (1900) been a 
member 32 years, and president 27 years, of a board of trustees 
of the "Hale Donation Fund" of $10,000. for the perpetuation 
and increase of a ministers' library for the vicinity of Coventry, 
and for giving aid to needing theological students. He has 
attended sixty-sjx ecclesiastical councils. He was registrar of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1/9 

Tolland Association of Congregational Ministers seventeen years, 
and of Tolland County Conference seventeen years. In 1880 he 
was moderator of the General Association of Connecticut, and 
in the following year delivered the moderator's address. His 
published writings have been pamphlets, including "Historical 
address at the 150th Anniversary of the Columbia Congrega- 
tional Church, in 1866;" "Historical address at the looth Anni- 
versary of the Tolland County Association of Congregational 
Ministers, June, 1889;" "Loyalty to the Church," an essay, read 
at the county conference, October, 1893. He was a member of 
the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1885. In the sum- 
mer of 1879, 'IS a member of the excursion party, directed by 
Eben Tourjee, he visited the Scottish lakes and cities London, 
Paris, chief cities of Switzerland, Italy and Holland. 

March 12, 1849, ^'^^ married Julia Sophia, daughter of Ros- 
well and Phebe (Harrison) Smith, in New Haven, Rev. Edward 
Strong, his former college tutor, officiating. A daughter, Julia 
Sophia, born June 11, 1855, was graduated from Mount Holyoke 
Seminary in 1876, and has been engaged in teaching since that 
time. Her mother died June 24, 1855, at the age of 2,2. He 
married at Hagaman, N. Y., May 18, 1857, Charlotte, daughter 
of Benjamin and Barbara (De Grafife) Mansy, Rev. Lansing 
Pearce officiating. A son, Frederick Henry, born July 10, 1863, 
married Lillian Irene, daughter of George B. and June (Clark) 
Fuller, November 20, 1889, his father officiating. Hugh Fred- 
erick, son of F. H. and L. I. Avery, born April 15, 1891, died 
Sept. 5, 1896. Another son, Frederick Denison Avery, was born 
Sept. 13, 1895. 

Residence of Rev. F. D. Avery, and of his son, F. H., is now 
at East Hartford, Conn. [F. D. A.] 

Henry William Avery, Jr., son of Henry William and 
Betsey (Denison) Avery, was born in Groton, Conn., May 31. 
1823. His childhood and youth were spent in the home of his 
parents, upon the farm, attending the district school during the 
winter months, until at seventeen years of age he taught the 
winter term of school at Ledyard Centre, near the church, and 



l8o HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

for three winters and one summer at Burnet's Corners in Groton. 
He was one of twenty-five, who united with the Congregational 
Church in Ledyard, Jan. i, 1843, under the pastorate of Rev. 
Timothy Tuttle. This was the largest accession ever made to 
that church at any one time previous to that date. The summer 
of 1844 was spent in the family of his uncle, Sidney Avery, in 
Sherburne, N. Y., and in attendance upon the Sherburne Acade- 
my. He was married Sept. ip, 1844, to Miss Lydia Goodell 
Avery, daughter of Sidney and Mary (Dickey) Avery. The fol- 
lowing winter they were with his parents in Ledyard, Conn., he 
teaching in the school-hoiise on Pumpkin Hill, where his early 
education was obtained. In the spring of 1845 they joined his 
wife's parents in Sherburne, N. Y., and all emigrated to Belvi- 
dere, Boone County, 111., and united by letter with the First 
Presbyterian Church of that place. He was soon thereafter 
elected superintendent of the church Sunday-school, which posi- 
tion he held most of the time for forty years. In 1852 he was 
elected and ordained ruling elder of the church, and in 1855 he 
was elected clerk of session, both of which offices he has con- 
tinuously held and retains to this date, April, 1900. As secretary 
and treasurer of church and society for forty-five years nearly 
all the records have been kept by him, and all funds, for all 
purposes. His occupation for thirty-five years in Illinois, was 
farming, having converted the natural prairie soil into well-cul- 
tivated and fruitful fields. During these years upon the fami, 
five miles from the city and the church, he organized and helped 
sustain many country Sunday-schools. In 1881 he retired from 
the farm of three hundred acres, and located in the city of Belvi- 
dere. At the county Sunday-school convention in that year, he 
was elected president of the Boone County Sunday-school As- 
sociation, which of^ce was continued by re-election for ten 
years. In 1887, after having been elected moderator of presby- 
tery and having delivered the address as retiring moderator. 
Freeport Presbytery, upon its own motion, granted him licensure 
to preach. Having this authority he has often supplied vacant 
pulpits and coinducted funeral services. Many of his public ad- 
dresses and essays at Presbytery Sunday-school conventions, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. l8l 

dairymen's conventions and farmers' institutes, have been pub- 
lished. Numerous estates have been entrusted to him for settle- 
ment, and his counsel and aid are often solicited. For twenty 
years he has been and yet is secretary and business manager of 
"The Belvidere Farmers' Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance 
Company of Boone County, Illinois." In May, 1847, the wife 
of his youth was removed by death, leaving one daughter, Eliza- 
beth Denison, about six months old. In October, 1848, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Rachel Patterson McCord, daugh- 
ter of Elder Robert McCord, of Carlisle. Pa. They have no 
children. His daughter, Elizabeth, was married in June, 1873, 
to John C. Thompson, of Belvidere, 111. She died in December, 
1880. Two sons, Edward Avery Thompson and Henry Sidney 
Thompson, survive her. The eldest is now a senior in Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, University. The youngest is now a senior 
in the Belvidere High School. The last visit of Mr. Avery to 
the ho'me of his youth was in 1891, when he preached for his 
friend. Rev. James A. Gallup, in Madison, for his brother. Rev. 
F. D. Avery, in Columbia, and for Rev. John Avery, in his home 
church in Ledyard. He also, by special invitation, made an ad- 
dress at the Bill Library dinner in the Bill homestead, now occu- 
pied and used as a parsonage for the Congregational Church. 

[H. W. A.] 

Christopher Swan Avery, M. D., son of Isaac and Lucy 
(Swan) Avery, was born in North Grolon, Nov. 25, 1788. "He 
served in the medical department of the army in the War of 
1812; was a successful practitioner, both in physic and surgery, 
and no man in his time was his superior." His practice as a 
physician was chiefly in the town of Windham, in this State ; 
though a portion of it, toward the close ol his life, was near the 
home of his childhood, in the village of Poquetanuck and the 
surrounding community. His first wife was Margaret Brew- 
ster, a daughter of Judge Benjamin Brewster, of Windham. She 
bore him three children — Benjamin Brewster, who died April 4, 
1827, aged 8 years. Susan, who married a Prior, and Lucy 



l82 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Swan, who died July 12, 1827, aged 4 years. Mrs. Avery died 
April 7, 1827, aged 32. He married for a second wife, the 
widow of Dr. Kent, from the State of New York. He died in 
Windham, July 19, 1862, aged 73. 

Amos Geer Avery, M. D., youngest son of Nathan and 
Matilda (Babcock) Avery, was born in North Groton, March 3, 
1822. He studied with his uncle, Dr. Christopher S. Avery; 
attended lectures in Connecticut and New Hampshire, and re- 
ceived his diploma from the Medical Institute in Louisville, Ky., 
in 1845, "^ ^ class of 345 members. "Soon after graduating he 
went to Iowa, then to California and stayed till 1857, when he 
returned east, and practiced medicine a few years in Orleans 
County, N. Y. On the fitting oiit of the Burnside expeditio'U to 
North Carolina, he was on the staff of William O. Howard, as 
marine agent, and hacl charge of eleven boats. He returned 
broken in health, and crippled by internal injuries, contracted in 
the line of dvtty, and was pensioned at seventeen dollars per 
month. He returned to the army and held an appointment 
from Surgeon-General S. Oakley Vanderpoel, to the Forty- 
fourth New York Regiment (Ellsworth's Avengers), General 
Rice then in command. * * * * fje was then chosen for 
the service in New York and vicinity, in examining men and 
supervising army camps and hospitals, and this continued to 
near the close of the war.'' After the war he located at Bergen, 
N. J., where he practiced medicine for several years ; then moved 
to Portland. Oregon. But the climate not agreeing with him 
he went to hlorida and resumed his professional work in that 
sunny state. He was married, about 1859, in Wilna, Lewis 
County, N. Y., to Caroline Amanda Johnson. They had one 
son and two daughters. Only one of the three children, the 
youngest, Frederikie, lived to grow up. She was married April 
13, 1872, to Adelbert Vrooman, of Great Bend, N. Y. Mrs. Dr. 
Avery died in Florida, May 2, 1892. Dr. Avery died at the home 
of his daughter, Sept. 18, 1898. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



183 



Henry Bill. Few of the sons of New London County have 
made a more lasting impress upon its material and moral in- 
terests than the subject of this notice. He was born in that 
part of the old town of Groton (now Ledyard) on the i8th of 
May, 1824, the second born of the large family of Gurdon and 
Lucy Bill. At the early age of fifteen he entered the office of 
the New London Gazette as an apprentice, but soon afterwards re- 
turned to his native town, and the following winter engaged as a 
teacher in the Broadbrook district in Preston. In order to qualify 
himself for the profession of teacher he afterwards entered the 

Academy in Plain- 
field, then one of 
the most celebrated 
schools in the coun- 
try From this time, 
till the age of twen- 
ty, he taught in the 
schools of Plainfield 
and Groton in the 
winter and helped 
his father on his 
farm in sunmier, in- 
^ _^ terspersing his occu- 

•J^^4^|\/'**" W^m "'^mj pations with a brief 

H» ,-i.i,.ai-fc- .■^H^^lf' I ^^ period of trade in 

V i^ mt^md llmK^ New London. At 

age of twenty he 
purchased of his 
father his remaining 
year of minority, 
and soon after en- 
tered upon a busi- 
ness which was destined to occupy the remainder of his active life, 
and in the prosecution of which he achieved all the objects of his 
highest ambition. A near kinsman, the Hon. James A.Bill of Lyme 
was then engaged in book publishing in the city of Philadelphia. 
Into his service he entered, and for three vears he traveled for 




Hon. Henry Bill. 



184 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

him through the Western States. At the end of that time, in 
the fall of 1847, l''^ returned to his native county and engaged 
in book publishing on his own account, locating in the city of 
Norwich. He was encouraged to do^ this by the elder Harper 
Brothers, of New York, who, instinctively, saw the material for 
success there was in him, and who gave him unlimited credit 
and remained his warmest friends during their lives. Here, for 
more than twenty-five years, lie pursued his profession of a book 
publisher with ceaseless energy and with uniform success. Re- 
warded with the possession of an ample fortune, and failing in 
health, he then formed his large business into a joint stock cor- 
poration, which still flourishes under the title of the Henry Bill 
Publishing Company, and personally retired, as the world ex- 
presses it, from active life. But in temperaments like his, there 
is no period of a man's life more active than that which succeeds 
a retirement from that occupation by which he is best known 
among men. 

A list of the works which he has published and distributed 
by hundreds of thousands all over the United States by agents 
would include "Stephens' Travels in Yucatan," "Maunder's. 
History of the World," "Murray's Encyclopedia of all Nations," 
"Kitto's Bible Histories," and "Abbott's History of the Civil 
War." 

Among the many works which have distinguished his life 
may be mentioned his founding of Laurel Hill, now one of the 
most thrifty and beautiful of the suburbs of the city of Norwich ; 
the reclaiming of this rugged hillside and meadow was emphatic- 
ally his work ; the establishment of the Bill Library in his native 
tOAvn of Ledyard, a work purel\' for the benefit of the people of 
the town, and which, in connection with his gift of a parsonage, 
has cost him at least twelve thousand dollars ; and the donation 
of a public park on Laurel Hill to- the city of Norwich valued at 
eight thousand dollars. He has been deeply interested in the 
education of many colored young men in the Southern States 
since the war, one of whom is now a professor in the Richmond 
LTniversity in Virginia, and one an editor of a paper in Georgia. 

In early life Mr. Bill's political affiliations were with the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I ©5 

Democratic party, as his father's were, before him, and as a 
Democrat he represented the Nonvich district in the State 
Senate in 1853. receiving in the election a large portion of the 
votes of his opponents; but in the split in that party in 1856 he 
cast his lot with the anli-slavery sentiment, and has been from 
its formation an active and uncompromising member of the Re- 
publican party. During the Civil War he was greatly relied 
upon by Connecticut's war Governor, Buckingham, and was his 
devoted friend. His time and means were always at the service 
of the State. Mr. Bill from early life was a member of the 
Congregational Church, and during his residence in Norwich 
was connected with the Broadway Society. He was married on 
the loth of February, 1847, to Miss Julia O. Chapman, of 
Groton. Seven children have been born to them, of whom two 
daughters and a son are living. Mr. Bill has always had great 
faith in the future of his adopted city. His investments have 
been almost wholly there in real estate. In its care and manage- 
ment he found ample occupation. In all the leading traits 
of his life, his example has been a safe guide, and when the 
roll of the sons of New London County, who have made them- 
selves an honored name, is called, his will be found among the 
first. 

He died at Eastern Point, Groton, Aug. 14, 1891, while sum- 
mering there with his family. His place of burial was Yantic 
cemetery in Norwich. They had children : 

Henry Gustavus, born Nov. 18, 1847, died Nov. 3, 1853. 

John Harper, born June 21, 185 1, died 1871. 

Henry Sumner, bom June 19, 1856, died . 

Julia Florence, born April 29, 1858, married Rev. J. Henry 
Selden, and live in Greenwich, Conn. They have one son, Henry 
Bill Selden. 

Jennie Eliza, born April 8, i860. 

Frederic Abbott, born March 12, 1864, married Ella Sprague, 
March 15, 1889, and live in Springfield, Mass. 

[N. L. Co. History.] 



i86 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Capt. James A. Billings, son of Col. Stephen and Martha 
(Denison) Billings, was bom in North Groton, Feb. 24, 1821. 
He received his education in the public schools ; early he began 
to teach in them, and prosecuted the work through sixteen sea- 
sons. He succeeded his father in the occupancy of the home- 
stead farm, and his principal employment on to the close of life 
was the cultivation of this farm. He and his family were all 

members and active sup- 
porters of the Congrega- 
tional Church. In early 
life Mr. Billings was 
chosen captain of the mili- 
tary company to which he 
belonged and bore the title 
as long as he lives. In the 
year 1881 he represented 
the town in the State Leg- 
islature. For several years, 
in the latter part of his life, 
he held the office of judge 
of probate. He was mar- 
ried December 28, 1852, 
to Miss Margarette J. 
AUyn. They had one son 
Capt. James A. Billings. and three daughters. He 

died at his home in Ledyard, December 7, 1896. 




Franklin Brewster was born Jan. 15, 1811, near Poquc- 
tanuck in Preston, on the Shipley Halsey farm. His parents 
were Nathan and Cynthia Brewster. They died when he was 
a small boy. He then went to live with his guardian, Theophilus 
Avery, of Ledyard, with whom he remained till he was a young 
man, meanwhile learning Ihe carpenter's trade. His leading 
employment through life was that oi a carpenter. He also 
owned a small farm to the cultivation of which he gave his at- 
tention when not pressed with other engagements. He was . 
frequently trusted with important interests by his fellow towns- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 187 

men. In 1876 he was the representative of Ledyard in the 
State Legislature. From 1876 to 1885 he was president of the 
Bill Library Association. In this work, from first to last, he 
had the earnest and efificient co-operation of his wife who^ gave 
much time and labor every year toi the preparation of the elabo- 
rate dinner provided for the trustees and their invited guests. 
Mr. Brewster was for many years an esteemed member and 
earnest worker in the Congregational Church. He was mar- 
ried Nov. 23, 1832, to Sarah Elmina Stoddard. They had two 
children, William Franklin and Harriet. Mr. Brewster died 
March 22, 1885, at the age of 74. 

The son married Ellen Allyn, daughter of Abel Allyn, and 
went West and lived a number of years, and then returned, and 
now lives on "Meeting-house Hill." 

Jabez Brewster, the father of John, Sr., was a native of 
New London County, and a farmer. His family comprised six 
sons and two daughters ; one married Jeremiah S. Halsey. 

John Brewster, Sr., was born in Preston, Dec. 15, 1782, 
and died Nov. 12, 1848, a few days after he had cast his vote for 
President and Vice-President of the United States. His wife 
was Mary (commonly called Polly) Morgan, daughter of Capt. 
Israel Morgan, a soldier of the Revolution. Capt. Morgan's 
father was William Morgan, and a lineal descendant of James 
Morgan, born in Wales in 1607, who settled in Pequot, now 
New London. He died June 4, 1816, his death being caused 
by an accident. In 1820, John Brewster, Sr., purchased the 
homestead then known as the "Capt. Israel Morgan Farm," but 
now called "Hillside L^arm." His family consisted of three 
sons and a daughter, who married Elisha A. Crary, and had a 
large family. 

Hon. John Brewster, son of John, Sr., and Marv (Morgan) 
Brewster, now living in retirement in Ledyard, Conn., upon 
the Brewster homestead, was born May 13, 1816, in the 



i88 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 




Hon. John Brewster. 



adjoining town of Preston, 
and is a direct descendant 
of the disting-uished Pil- 
grim leader, William Brew- 
ster, "the excellent Elder 
of Plymouth," whose eldest 
son, Jonathan, was the 
first town clerk of New 
London. He is the only 
surviving son of the family 
and grew to manhood on 
the farm, was educated in 
the common schools, and 
in Colchester Bacon Acad- 
emy. He enlisted as ser- 
geant in a rifle ' company 
from Groiton and Stoning- 
ton, when in his eighteenth year, and afterwards was cho'sen cap- 
tain, by which title he is now well known. Previous to his mar- 
riage he taught school several winters. Mr. Brewster was mar- 
ried April 2, 1840, to Mary Esther Williams, daughter of Denison 
Billings Williams and Hannah Avery, of Stoningto-n. Mrs. 
Brewster, now in her eighty-third year, was the eldest of nine 
children, seven of whom have passed away. The remaining 
sister is the wife of Richard A. Roberts, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Six 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brewster: 

Mary Hannah, born Jan. 19, 1841, died Sept. 2, 1842. 
John Denison, born Jan. 29, 1843 ! ^^'^s married to M. Adaliza 
Geer, Oct. 18, 1871 ; died April 30, 1894, leaving his wife and 
two children, Clara Louise and Arthur Morgan. 

Fanny Halsey, born Sept. 14, 1845, was married June 30, 
1868, to Thouias A. Geer, of Cleveland, O., formerly of Ledyard. 
They have one daughter, Mary Brewster, now married tO' Edwin 
L. Thurston, a prominent lawyer of Cleveland, O., and have one 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 189 

son, Thomas Brewster, the only great-grandchild of Mr. and 
Mrs. Brewster. 

Phebe Esther, born July 21, 1848, was married Oct. 22, 1873, 
to Benjamin F. Lewis, Jr., of Mystic. 

Frank Williams, born April 24, 1854, was married Oct. 24, 
1878, to Mary L. Brown, of Preston. They have two children, 
Hannah Elizabeth and Phebe Halsey.. The son Frank and his 
family remain on the homestead. 

Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Brewster brought his wife 
to the home, where he has lived more than eighty years, and 
with liis wife over sixty years. The farm, situated in the town 
of Ledyard, and just south of the village of Poquetanuck, four 
miles from Norwich, contains about 140 acres. The house is 
over 200 years old, but has always been kept in good repair. 
In it were born the twelve children of Capt. Morgan. It is re- 
lated that one of the little girls, on her way to school, meeting 
a stranger, was asked by him what family she belonged to. and 
she promptly replied, that she "belonged to^ the tribe of Israel." 

In addition to tilling his farm, Capt. Brewster bought wool 
in company with the late L. W. Carroll, of Norwich, and also 
for the Yantic Woolen Co. In the capacity of appraiser, trustee 
and administrator, he has often assisted in settling estates, some 
or them requiring the handling of large amounts of property, 
and involving knotty and troublesome pro'blems. He was al- 
ways conspicuous for broad intelligence, and sound judgment, 
honest, kind-hearted and generous to a fault. He, with his 
family, have always attended St. James' Episcopal Church of 
Poquetanuck, of which he has been a liberal supporter. 

He represented the town of Ledyard, in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, 1847, 185 1 and 1878, and the Tenth district in the 
wSenate, i860, 1885 and 1886. A contemporary paper thus speaks 
of him : "The Tenth district, in the person of senator, who' has 
been one of the most prominent senators at the capitol, has had 
much excellent effect upon legislation. The senator has cared 
for fisheries and temperance, being at the head of-the conmiittees 
on those topics, but his usefulness has been in no sense confined 
to this pent-up field. As a member of the committee on execu- 



igO HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

tive nominations he has served the Senate well. On all the lead- 
ing matters before the Senate, he has had the courage of his con- 
victions, "and has asked questions, and made some statements 
very hard for antagonists to answer." 

For several years he held the office of selectman (first and 
second), probate judge of the town of Ledyard, and president of 
the Bill Library Association. He was president of the Mer- 
chants Bank, of Norwich, twelve years, and is now the first vice- 
president of the Norwich Savings Society. He was also director, 
president and treasurer (until his health failed) of the New Lon- 
don County Agricultural Society, and for several years a mem- 
ber of the State Board of Agriculture. In politics Mr. Brew- 
ster was a Republican. 

Let a life-long neighbor add her tribute to her worthy friends : 

"Captain Brewster and his estimable wife, have ever been 
noted, in their own neighborhood, for their charity to the needy, 
and sympathy in sorrow. No poor neighbor ever went to them 
in trouble who did not come away with a more hopeful heart and 
a heavier purse. Their generous deeds were not the impulse of 
the moment, but the fruit of their religious principles. In the 
evening of their lives, these words of Scott can be truly applied 
to them : 

'When the hour of death comes, it is not what we have done 
for ourselves, but what we have done for others, that we think 
of most pleasantly.' " 

John D. Brew.ster, the eldest son of Captain and Mrs. 
Brewster, was a worth scion of the parent stock. His genial 
address attracted, and his uprightness secured for him a host of 
friends in his business life, under the firm name of "O'Brien & 
Brewster." He held the positions of councilman and water 
commissioner, and served the city of Norwich faithfully and con- 
scientiously. [P. E. L.] 

Eli AS S. Brown, son of Avery W. Brown, enlisted from 
Ledyard as a private in Company C, First Connecticut Cavalry, 
Oct. 31, 1861. He was promoted to corporal Oct. 27,, 1863, 
and to sergeant of Company G Nov. i ; while in this position he 



nrOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I9I 

was detailed to take charge of the pioneer corps. He re-en- 
Hsted as a veteran Dec. 17, 1863; was promoted to first sergeant 
Feb. 12, 1864, to second Heutenant Nov. 17, and to first Heuten- 
ant Dec. 5. On the fourth of February, 1865, he accompanied 
Col. Whitaker, with three hundred picked men, on a difBcult 
march all" day and all night, over the AUeghanies, of seventy 
miles, thirty ol them within the enemy's lines, tO' surprise and 
capture Major Harry Gilmore, the famous rebel raider. The war 
having closed, he was honorably discharged Aug. 2, 1865, and 
returned to Ledyard, where he pursued the vocation of a farmer 
and in which town he died March 18, 1877. 

Hon. Stiles Ashbel Crandall was born in Ledyard, Oct. 
12, 1 85 1, son of Stiles and Caroline L. (Greene) Crandall. On 
the paternal side he is of Scotch descent, and on the maternal 
side English. /\fter receiving a common school education he 
attended the law school connected with the State University of 
Iowa, from which he was graduated in the class of 1878. Before 
taking up the study of law he taught school, besides working on 
a farm. In 1879 ^^^ was admitted to the bar of the State of 
Connecticut, and at once began practice in Norwich, and has 
continued in said practice to the present time. In 1881 he was 
one of the representatives of the town in the State Legislature, 
and from 1888 to 1892 he was mayor of the City oi Norwich. 
He was a member of the State Senate in 1893; and in 1895 was 
a candidate for the Lieutenant-Governor on the Democratic 
ticket. He has served six years on the Norwich board of educa- 
tion. He is a member ol the Putnam Phalanx, Masons, Odd 
Fellows and other organizations. He was married April 25, 
1883, tO' Jane F. Stoddard, of Ledyard, by whom he has two 
children — Mary S. and Billings F. T. Crandall. Mrs. Crandall 
died in i< 



Lt. William Tuttle Cook, son of Rev. N. B. and Mrs. Anna 
M. Tuttle Cook, was born at Mystic Bridge (now Mystic), Conn., 
April 26, 1840. Fie received his education in the common and 
select schools, attending in later years the Academy taught by 
Rev. S. N. Howell, after which he pursued a course of study 



192 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



under the tutorage of his grandfather, Rev. Timothy Tuttle. 
While engaged as a clerk in the general store ol Mr. A. H. Sim- 
mons, at Old M3^stic, the Civil War commenced, and Oct. 8, 
1 86 1, he enlisted in Company C, First Connecticut Cavalry, under 
Capt. Wm. S. Fish. He was at once made company quarter- 
master-sergeant, and his company of cavalry served under Rose- 

crans in West Virginia, in 
the Potomac, and Shennan- 
doah Valleys under Sigel, 
during Pope's campaign, 
up to and including the 
second battle of Bull Run. 
Remained for a time in 
front of Washington, and 
was finally transferred with 
his regiment to the com- 
mand under Gen. Schenck 
oud located at Baltimore. 
While serving here he was 
promoted to first sergeant, 
then to second lieutenant, 
and again to first lieuten- 
ant, afterwards acted as 
adjutant of the regiment, 
and later in command of 
his company. March 8, 1864, he, with the regiment, started for 
the front, marching through Washington and across Long 
Bridge, into Virginia, reaching Stevensburg, March 24th, and 
was there placed under the command of Gen. Wilson, who com- 
manded the third division ol the cavalry corps under Gen. Sheri- 
dan. May 4th, 1864, crossed Germania Ford with the advance 
ol Grant's army, took part in the battles at Craig's Church, 
vSpottsylvania, in Sheridan's ''Richmond Raid," and other battles 
which followed, serving until Oct. 25, at which time his three 
years having expired, he returned to Connecticut. After re- 
maining at home for awhile he went to Saginaw, Mich., and 
entered the employ ol the First National Bank. He afterwards 




L.T. William T. Cook. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I93 

became a member of the firm of Derby & Co., wholesale grocers, 
but his health failing he returned to Connecticut. In 1875 be 
was elected collector of town taxes in Ledyard and continued 
to act in that capacity till 1880. He was a member of the board 
of education for twelve years, and for five years was secretary of 
the board and acting school visitor. He represented the town 
in the General Assembly in 1879 ^''^d 1880. During the first 
session was clerk of the committee on roads and bridges, and 
during the second session was clerk of the committee on educa- 
tion. Was assistant adjutant-general of the Department of Con- 
necticut, G. A. R., for the year 1880, and was secretary of the 
New London County Agricultural Society from 1886 to 1890, 
inclusive. He was elected a trustee of the Bill Library in 1880, 
to succeed his father, and was chosen secretary of the organiza- 
tion in 1887, remaining as such until chosen president in 1894. 
The latter position he resigned in 1897 by reason of failing health. 
He was secretary of the Ledyard Cemetery Association for four 
years and has been secretary of the Connecticut Cavalry Asso- 
ciation from 1884 to date. [W. f. C] 

Hon. Silas Deaxe was born in North Groton (Ledyard) on 
the place, formerly known as the Chas. Allyn farm, now owned 
and occupied by Mr. Amandar W. Gray. His residence in later 
years, was in Wethersfield, Conn. He was graduated at Yale 
College in 1758, and early entered the political arena. He held 
important ofiices in the towns in which he resided — in the coiii- 
monwealth of Connecticut, and in the Continental Government. 
The Legislature of Connecticut appointed him and Col. Dyer 
as its representatives in the first Colonial Congress which met in 
1774. In 1776 he was sent by the Government to France as a 
political and commercial agent to secure, if possible, co-operation 
and assistance in the struggle with Great Britain into- which the 
Colonies had just entered. Mr. Deane arrived in Paris in June 
of that year; and later in the same year. Dr. Franklin and Arthur 
Lee were sent out to join him ; and the three were empowered to 
act as ministers in negotiating treaties with foreign powers. 
Though Mr. Deane assisted in making the desired arrangement 

13 



194 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

with the PVench sovereign, and inducing the Marquis De La- 
fayette, Baron De Kalb and others to come to America, and ren- 
der important assistance in our struggle for liberty, yet his pro- 
ceedings were characterized by such lavish expenditures and 
such a profusion of promises, both of office and of money tO' the 
young men whom he wished to induce to enlist in our cause, 
that the Colonial Government felt constrained to recall him. 
When called to account for his conduct he failed to give an ac- 
count that was satisfactory. A long controversy ensued, and 
from that day to this there has been a difference of opinion in 
regard tO' the character and conduct of Mr. Deane ; some claim- 
ing that "he had but very little to recommend him to the high 
position in which he was placed" (Blake's Biographical Dic- 
tionary) ; others, that he "was fully vindicated from all the as- 
persions of his enemies," and that "his services to the cause of his 
country can scarcely be over estimated" (New London County 
History, page 766). He died at Deal, in England, in 1789. A 
fair conclusion is that his love of liberty for his country and his 
zeal in her cause, was such as to hold oiit inducements and en- 
large on the opportunities in this new land. Lafayette came, the 
navy O'f France came, soldiers came, and but for them and others 
from Europe, our cause had been lost. The people of America 
now know that he could not well have overdrawn the interests of 
this new world. 

Nathan Daboll, soil of Nathan Daboll, was born at Centre 
Groton, April 24, 1750. He early developed a fondness for 
mathematical and scientific studies. At that day it was very diffi- 
cult for a young man, with tastes like his, tO' procure such books 
as he needed. But doing the best he co'uld in tiiis matter, and 
prosecuting his studies without the aid of a teacher, he prepared 
himself for a most successful career as teacher and publisher in 
after life. Through a long series of years he taught in his native 
place, giving prominence in his instruction to navigation, and 
thus fitting young men to be practical navigators. From 1783 
to 1788 he was the mathematical instructor in Plainfield Acade- 
my, a famous institution of learning at that time. "In i8it, upon 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I95 

the invitation of Commodore Rogers, he taught a large class in 
the cabin of the frigate President," then lying in New London 
harbor. He began his career as a publisher soon after attaining 
to his majority. A series of Almanacks, prepared by Mr. Clark 
Elliott, of New London, and published by Timothy Green, was 
commenced in 1766. A serious error in the issue for 1770 ren- 
dered it unpopular, and by and by opened the way for "the Con- 
necticut Almanack" for 1773, by Nathan Daboll. This work has 
made its annual appearance from that time to the present, being 
prepared successively by Nathan Daboll, Sen., Nathan Daboll, 
Jr., and David A. Daboll, who is now upon the stage. 

In 1799, with the warm approval of Noah Webster, Prof. 
Meigs of Yale. Prof. Messer of Brown University, and other 
noted scholars, the first edition of "DaboU's Complete School- 
master's Assistant" was given to the world. During the period 
of its preparation, and for some years thereafter, Mr. Daboll re- 
sided in North Groton (Ledyard) in a house whose foundations 
are still visible near the entrance to the pent-way that leads to 
the house of H. R. Norman. In this house his son, Nathan, who 
succeeded him as almanac-maker and teacher of mathematics 
and navigation, was born in 1780. 

Nathan Daboll, Sen., died in 1818. On the nth of March in 
that year he was buried in a rural cemetery about one mile to the 
north-west of the village of Centre Groton. 

Capt. Jacob Gallup was born in North Groton, April 24, 
1787. He was a carpenter and farmer and prosecuted his callings 
with great energy and success. He was a Democrat in politics, 
and as such represented the town of Ledyard in the State Legis- 
lature in the years 1844 and 1848. He was married May 24, 1812, 
to Parthenia Morgan, who was born Sept. 4, 1794. Their chil- 
dren were 

A daughter born Feb. 3, 1814, died Feb. 19, 1814. 

Prudence, born Sept. 27, 181 5, married Aug. 4, 1836, Joihn 
W. Bill, of Lyme. 

Jacob Lorenzo, born Nov. 27, 1818. 

P'rancina, bom April 20, 1821, married Oct. 19, 1841, Dudley 
Davis, of Stonington. 



196 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Calvin, died July 20, 182 1, aged one month. 

Horace, died May 27, 1828, aged eight months. 
Mrs. Parthenia (Morgan) Gallup died in 1828. Capt. Gallup 
married as a second wife, Mrs. Sarah (Bill) Williams. She bore 
him one child, viz. : Sarah Ann, born Sept., 1835, died May, 
1864. 

Capt. Gallup died Nov. 11, 1852. His widow, Mrs. Sarah 
Bill Gallup, died Feb. 24, 1878. Capt Gallup was one of the 
foremost men in his time. He was a staunch Democrat in his 
day, and few men were more active in all the offices of life than he. 



Maj. Jacod Lorenzo Gallup was born in North Groton, 
Nov. 2^, 181 8. Pie was the third child and oldest son oi Jacob 
and Parthenia (Morgan) Gallup. When a young man he made 

one voyage to the Pacific 
on a whaling vessel. He 
succeeded his father in the 
occupancy of the home- 
stead as a carpenter and 
farmer. He became special- 
ly interested in religious 
things in the great revival 
which occurred in Ledyard 
early in the ministry of 
Rev. Charles Cutting. 
From this time on he was 
an active member of the 
Congregational Church, al- 
ways "ready to every good 
work." 

As a deacon in the 
church and a teacher in the 
Sunday-school he did much 
to promote the interests of religion in the coinmunity. As a 
citizen, a neighbor, a friend, he was much esteemed and beloved. 
In the year 1856 and again in 1866, he represented the town in 
the State Legislature. He was married April' 14, 1841, to Eliza- 




Maj. Jacob L. Gallup. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



197 



beth Spicer who was born Feb. 21, 1815. Their children were 

Fannie Elizabeth, born Sept. 21, 1842, died May 2, 1864. 

An infant, died Ang. 17, 1848. 

Mrs. Elizabeth (Spicer) Gallup died June 28, 1854. 

Maj. Gallup married Sept. 9, 1857, Anna Gallup, who was 
born Julv 13. 1835. Their children were 

Jacob, born Jan. i, 1859. 

Agnes, born Sept. 29, 1866, married James 1. Hewitt, Oct. 
10, 1888. 

]Maj. Gallup died Dec. 11, 1877. 



i ^ -^"JWS 


\ 




%\ 


-**»• 




. '^"X"^ 




%^ ^^/i 


^ 


^km 





Isaac Gallup, Esq. 



Isaac Gallup was born in Ledyard (then North Groton) 
Jan. 21, 1789, and was the second child and eldest son of Capt. 
Isaac Gallup and his wife Anna, daughter of Lieut. Nehemiah 
Smith, a direct descendant of Rev. Nehemiah Smith. 

From the earliest settle- 
ment of New England the 
Gallup family have been 
distinguished for patriot- 
ism, enterprise and promi- 
nence in civil and military 
afifairs. The founder of the 
family in America was 
Capt. John Gallup, who 
came to New Engl:.nd in 
1630. Isaac Gallup, the 
subject of this sketch, 
had the advantage of be- 
ginning life in a good 
home and springing from 
a strong, brave and capa- 
ble ancestry. He pos- 
sessed a robust consti- 
tution, a keen and active 
mind and a resolute spirit. The Connecticut f:'rm at that 
period afforded excellent opportunities for the training of boys 
and girls in industry, economy and other hardy virtues. The 



198 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

eldest son, Isaac, seems to have been a natural leader, and an 
example to his seven younger brothers in the energy, earnest- 
ness and faithfulness with which he accomplished his tasks. 
Though his advantages were limited, he early acquired the rudi- 
ments of a sound, practical education, was accurate and thorough 
in scholarship and, at an early age, showed tastes for solid, sub- 
stantial reading. He always had an aptitude for acquiring prac- 
tical knowledge and learned so well how to use his mental powers 
that he was able to meet the requirement of the varied pursuits 
of a long and busy life. Being of an energetic temperament, his 
mind readily turned to active pursuits, and in his youth he served 
an apprenticeship in the trade of a carpenter, with Col. Joseph 
Smith, one of the leading contractors and business men of Ston- 
ington. He seems, also, to have cultivated a taste for good 
architecture and that absolute thoroughness of construction, so 
characteristic of his own work all through life. While still a 
young man, Mr. Gallup went into the business of building, on 
his own account, employing apprentices and taking such con- 
tracts as he could secure. At the age of 23, he was married to 
Prudence, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Stanton) Geer, a young 
woman fully as energetic, ambitious and capable as himself, who 
proved herself a faithful wife and true helpmeet during all the 
years of their married life. The young couple began house- 
keeping in a small but comfortable home near the Bill home- 
stead. About that old house (not now standing) so'me interest- 
ing traditions cluster. 

Nearly a hundred years before it became the home of the 
Gallup family, it was occupied by Samuel Seabury, a Congrega- 
tional licentiate of North Groton, and there, in 1729, was boni 
his son, Samuel Seabury, who became the first Bishop of the 
Episcopal Church in America. Some years later it was the home 
of the clergyman who ministered to^ the Episcopal body who wor- 
shipped on the neighboring Church Hill, and has been styled 
the first rectory in America. Later on the Seabury parsonage 
iind land was purchased by Gurdon Bill, and formed a part of his 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I99 

realty, and all is now known as the Bill parsonage property, be- 
longing to the Congregational Society of the town. 

During the first year of tJieir married life, the bombardment of 
Stonington occurred, and Mr. Gallup did duty as a soldier during 
the War of 1812. The death of his father, two years later, con- 
siderably increased his responsibilities. He assisted his mother 
in the management of her business affairs, and helped his younger 
brothers to acquire useful callings in life. During all these years, 
he carried on business, taking such contracts as he could secure, 
the busy wife, meanwhile plying the loom, managing the house 
and caring for the increasing family of children. In this house 
were born the four daughters, and the only son. For sixteen 
years it continued tO' be their home ; but in the spring of 182S 
Mr. Gallup felt it advisable to remove his family to Norwich 
Falls, much of his work being in that vicinity. They remained 
there one year, and the following spring saw them located in 
Greeneville, then a mere hamlet, but soon to be the scene of 
great and varied activity. The year 1829 witnessed the begin- 
ning of a great enterprise. The skill of the inventor, as applied 
to the production of textile goods, was already ope.ning up great 
possibilities. The keen vision of such capable and far-sighted 
men as VVm. C. Gilman and Wm. P. Greene, clearlv saw that the 
swift flowing river above Norwich would furnish sufificient power, 
if rightly applied, to turn the wheels of great factories, and put 
in motion the thousands of spindles, soon to supersede the slow 
and tedious handloom. To make that power available it was 
necessary to construct the Greeneville dam. It was a great, a 
stupendous work, and its completion was counted a great triumph 
of engineering skill. The importance of that work can scarcely 
be over estimated ; for the opening of that fine water privilege 
paved the way for those great and important industries which 
shaped the future of Norwich and laid the solid foundations of 
her prosperity. The Greeneville of that time though in its 
infancy, was a place of great activity, and there Mr. Gallup found 
full scope for his business talents and execntive ability. He 



200 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

superintended the work of the large force of carpenters employed 
in the construction of the dam, he also built temporary quarters, 
and with the aid of his efficient and practical wife and such help 
as they could secure, cared for the small army of mechanics and 
laborers there employed. At the end of a year, the work being 
virtually completed, Mr. Gallup purchased a farm in Preston 
adjoining the Geer homestead, the birthplace of his. wife. His 
connection with Greeneville continued for sometime later, al- 
though his family removed to Preston in' 1830, and he held, for 
a number of years the position of agent of the Norwich Water 
Power Company. Mr. Gallup took a great interest in improving 
his farm in Preston, and in building the large, comfortable and 
well-appointed house which he felt would be a fitting and per- 
manent home for his family. That house, now standing and still 
in the name and family, has a beautiful and healthful situation, 
and with its well-tilled fields, large orchards and substantial 
buildings, is a good specimen of the Connecticut coimtry home. 

For many years after his remoival to Preston, Mr. Gallup 
carried on business as a builder, handling many important con- 
tracts. Though often absent from home, he skillfully directed 
the labor of his farm, on which he was constantly making im- 
provements. In addition to other business, he was much occu- 
pied in surveying. He probably acquired some knowledge of 
this pursuit from his father who followed it to some extent. He 
perfected himself, however, by diligent study and the instruction 
he received from the late Asahel Robbins, then the leading sur- 
veyor of Norwich. In his connection with town affairs and in 
the settlement of estates, Mr. Gallup's pro'ficiency as a surveyor 
was of great value. His work was always marked l)y the thor- 
oughness, accuracy and nice regard for details, which were char- 
acteristic of the man. Boundary lines laid down by him were 
seldom, if ever, disputed. 

Possessing a strong mind, a positive character and a sound 
judgment. Squire Gallup, as he was generally called, was held in 
the highest regard by his friends and townspeople who- often 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 20I 

sought his advice and always vahied his counsel. With his fine 
administrative ability, his wide experience and perfect integrity, 
he was singularly well qualified for the adjustment of business 
afifairs and the settlement of estates and his services were iu 
demand in his own and neighboring towns. For many years he 
transacted business for the Treat and Doane families of Preston, 
whose aff'airs he managed to their entire satisfaction. Although 
able to adjust the most complicated and difficult business, he 
never betrayed a trust or missed an opportunity. Mr. Gallup 
was a man of strong convictions and took an active part in the 
early movement for temperance reform, uttering a resolute pro- 
test against the habit of treating and the drinking customs of 
society, and aiding many of his friends and neighbors to shake 
off the bondage of alcohol. In his mature manhood, Mr. Gallup 
united with the Congregational Church of Ledyard, of which he 
was a strong supporter all through life. His pastor and life- 
long friend. Rev. Timothy Tuttle, found him a ready helper and 
counted him his strong right hand in every good work. He ex- 
erted an excellent influence on the young men who served him 
as apprentices. Though a kind master, he w^as an earnest ad- 
vocate of good morals, correct habits and honest work. Being 
himself of a broad, progressive spirit, he always welcomed signs 
of enterprise and ambition in the young men of his town whom 
he often aided in making- a start in life, by friendly encourage- 
ment and practical assistance. Mr. Gallup was devoted to his 
home and happy in the relations of domestic life. He was also 
a trul)' public-spirited citizen, a friend and promoter of good 
schools, sound government and public improvements. He re- 
tained his mental vigor to the close of his long, useful and 
honored life, from which he departed May 2, 1867. 

Isaac Gallup was the worthy head of a good family, and a 
tower of strength in his day and generation. 

The children of the family were 

Mary Ann, born Dec. 10, 181 2, married Elias B. Avery. 

Prudence Almira, born March 4, 181 5, married Jas. L. Geer. 

Emeline, born Feb. 2^, 18 18, married Orlando Smith. 

Isaac, born Nov. 13, 1820, married Maria T. Davis. 

Julia, born April 4, 1823, married Jacob A. Geer. [J. E. S.J 



202 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Isaac Gallup, Jr., born Nov. 13, 1820, married Maria T. 

Davis, and lived with his father at the homestead for the most 

part till his father's death, 
when he succeeded to the 
estate and has since spent 
his life on the farm near 
Poquetanuck. His eldest 
son, Hon. Henry H. 
GaiUup, w^as educated 
in the public schools. He 
early entered business in 
Norwich in the leather 
belting and kindred sup- 
plies and has won great 
success in his business, and 
been conspicuous for many 
years among the best citi- 
zens of that city. Lately 
he has been honored by 
the Republican party of his 
State by an election as 

State treasurer. He is a director in several of the banks of 

Norwich, president of The Bulletin Co., and prominent in 

church affairs. 




Hon. Henry H. Gallup 



Dea. Erastus Gallup was born in Ledyard (North Groton), 
July 31. 1800, and died at Groton, July 7, 1882, aged 82. He was 
the son of Isaac Gallup and grandson of Col. Benadam Gallup, a 
soldier of the French and Indian Wars. He was one of the young- 
est of a family of ten children, eight of whom were sons — one of 
those sturdy New England families such as have made its religious 
and political history and have created its thrift. He received the 
advantages of the public schools. He was also well grounded 
in the Scriptures, and to the end of life could recite with ease 
whole passages of the sacred writings. In his sixteenth year he 
was put to the carpenter's trade to his older brother Isaac, but 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



203 



he soon acquired all that was then practiced of the art, and set 
up in business by himself. He became a master builder and 
took contracts. He had learned carpentry by what was known 

as the scribe rule but soon 
threw it away for the 
sciuare rule, which is now 
altogether practiced b y 
skilled mechanics. H i s 
workmanship was so thor- 
ough and his terms so fa- 
vorable that he was sought 
for as a builder far and 
near, to construct dwell- 
ings, factories, churches 
and school-houses. As the 
contracts increased he took 
apprentices, brought them 
up in his family, accus- 
tomed them to go to 
church, and in that way 
1:)ecame a moral and relig- 
ious instructor as well. 
And it is a fact to be noted that very many of the young men 
who learned the carpenter's art of Dea. Gallup became devout 
men. Probably very few teachers have lived to see so many 
of those under their tuition become members of churches. Two 
of the deacons of the church of which the departed died a mem- 
ber were apprentices to him. He frecpiently had six or eight 
young men in his family at one time. In 1834 he was chosen 
a deacon of the church in Ledyard of which Rev. Timothy Tuttle 
was pastor. He had joined the church when a boy. Of this 
church he remained a member for fifty-nine years, when he re- 
moved his connection to the Congregational Church at Groton, 
where he resided, being then too old and infirm to attend service 
at the former. He was Father Tuttle's beloved and trusted 
deacon, ever ready with counsel and encouragement. About the 
same time that he was elected a deacon of the church at Ledyard 




Dea. Erastus Gallup. 



204 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



he was also elected captain of the First Flank Company of the 
Eighth Connecticut Regiment, and he was ever after styled 
Captain and Deacon interchangeably. He married for his first 
wife a daughter of Seth Williams. She having died, about 1840 
he married again, Miss Frances ShefBeld, sister of Dr. W. W. 
Sheffield, of New London. About this time, 1843. l^e removed 
from Ledyard to Groton Bank, where he afterward resided except 
for a short period at Norwich and again at Ledyard. He con- 
tinued active through his whole life, and New London County 
is dotted all over with substantial structures built by him, many 
of them temples to the God he worshipped, crowning the hilltops 
with their white spires pointing heavenward, whither he has 
gone. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like His." 



Russell Gallup, son of Capt. Isaac and Anna (Smith) 
Gallup, was born in North Groton (Ledyard), April 11, 1791, 

and married Hannah 
Morgan, daughter of Sliap- 
ley and Hannah (Allyn) 
Morgan, March 28, 1816, 
and they had children, viz. : 
Edwin R., born Jan. 22 

18 17. Rufus M., Sept. 24, 

1818. Sarah, Sept 10, 
1 82 1. James A., Nov. 15. 
1823. Nelson, Jan. 8, 1827. 
Erastus, Sept. 24, 1828. 
Ellen, Dec. 18, 1830, 
Francis E., Aug. 15, 1833. 
and Joseph Albert, July 2, 
1835, three of whom are 
living — Nelson, in Nor- 
wich, Conn. ; Francis E., 
in Groton. Conn., and 
Joseph Albert, at the old 

Gallup homestead in Ledyard, Conn. Russell Gallup was a 




Dea. Russell, Gallup. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



205 



farmer by occupation and bought the land and built the house 
in which he lived till his death, which is now owned by his grand- 
son, Russell Gallup. He was a deacon of the Congregational 
Church for more than fifty years, which office he held till his 
death. He was in the military service in the War of 1812. He 
was an honest, upright man, of sterling integrity, always ready 
as far as he was able to help those in need of assistance or counsel. 
He died at his home in Ledyard, Feb. 16, 1869. Hannah (Mor- 
gan) Gallup died April 26, 1868. 



Avery Gallup, fourth son of Capt. Isaac and Anna (Smith) 
Gallup, was born in North Groton (Ledyard), April 6, 1796, 
and married, first, Melinda Bailey, Nov. 21, 1822. Their 
children were William A., born Jan. 2, 1826. Elizabeth, Oct. 
8, 1828. His wife dying in 1828. he married, second, Mar\ 
Haley, March 13, 1834, and their children were Anna, born 1835 ; 
Simeon. 1837; Lucy, 1840; Mary, 1843; Emily, 1846; Edward. 
1850; of whom Wm. A.. Anna, Simeon and Lucy are now living. 
He learned the trade of blacksmith and worked at it for a num- 
ber ol years; afterwards 
purchased the home farm, 
and devoted the remainder 
of his life to farming. He 
was chosen deacon of the 
Baptist Church in Old 
Mystic ni 1842, and held 
the office till his death, 
Nov. 4, 1864, which oc- 
curred very suddenly. His 
widow, Mary Haley Gal- 
lup, died Dec. 8, 1891. 
[W. A. G.] 

Rev. James A. Gallup, 

third son of Dea. Russell 

and Hannah (Morgan) 

Rev. James A. Gallup. Gallup, was born in Led- 




206 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



yard, then part of Groton, Nov. 15. 1823. He was graduated at 
Yale College in 185 1, and Yale Divinity School in 1854. 'He 
was ordained and installed as the first pastor of a new Congre- 
gational Church in Essex, Conn., May 17, 1854. After a very 
successful ministry there he accepted a call to a larger field in 
Madison, Conn. He was dismissed from Essex, Oct. 4, 1865, and 
installed in Madison, November 2, and continued there with 
great acceptance until his retirement on account of advancing 
years and declining health in November, 1893. His connection 
with the church as pastor emeritus was terminated by his death, 
in Madison, on Jan. 30, 1898, after a distressing illness of several 
weeks, in his 75th year. He married, on June 21, 1854, Emily 
T., daughter of Ezra S. Hubbard, of New Haven, who died on 
May 3, 1870. He next married, on Nov. 28, 1876, Charlotte R., 
daughter of Rev. Samuel R. Andrew, of New Haven, who sur- 
vives him. He had no children. [Yale Obit. Record for 1898.] 




Dka. N. Sands Gallup. 



Peter A. Gallup was 
born Jan. 16, 1776, and 
died April 9, 1851. My 
mother, Rebecca T. Mor- 
gan, born Aug. 19, 1793, 
died Jan. 15, 1886. They 
were born in Groton and 
were married April 9, 1820. 
There children were 

Eliza, born Dec. 16, 
1820, died May 22, 1869. 

James M., born October 
28, 1822, died August 27, 
1841. 

Annis F., born July 9, 
1824, died July 7, 1865. 

Nathan Sands, born 



Sept. 13, 1829. 
Julia A., born Oct. 2, 1832. 
Ray D., born Aug. 29, 1834, died y\pril 2[, 1854. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. , 207 

Mary Ellen, born Nov. 5, 1837. 

N. S. Gallup, married Julia A. Gallup, daughter of B. F. 
Gallup, May 6th, 1858. Their children were 
Josiah Wesley Gallup, born March 10, 1859. 
Ellen Gallup, born April 23, 1862. 
Amos Morgan Gallup, born Oct. 20, 1864. 
Cora B. Gallup, born June 11, 1866. [N. S. G.] 

Amos Geer, Esq., son of Robert Geer, Jr., and Abigail 
(Greenman) Geer, was born April 14, 1736, in North Groton, on 
the place now occupied by his great-grandson, Dea. Isaac Gallup 
Geer. He was graduated at Yale College in the class of 1757. 
He was a superior penman ; and many old documents, in his 
elegant hand, are still preserved — among them the records of 
Groton for the years 1797 and 1804. He served the town 34 
years as justice of the peace, from 1781 to 1815, and during that 
period performed the marriage ceremony for more than one hun- 
dred couples, as it was customary in those days to call upon a 
civil magistrate rather than a clergyman for that service. He 
was appointed by the town one of the committee of correspond- 
ence, June 20, 1774, in the cause of liberty, after the British had 
ordered the port of Boston closed. He represented the town of 
Groton in the State Legislature in the year 1780' — ^twO' terms — • 
and again in 1790. He died May 19, 1821, aged 85. He had ten 
children. His son, Amos Geer, Jr., succeeded him on the same 
farm. Amos Geer, Jr. (1772-1865), was succeeded by his son, 
Jacob A. Geer (1817-1857), and he by his son, the present oc- 
cupant. Dea. I. G. Geer has, within a few years, added to his 
landed possessions by purchasing the adjoining farm on the east, 
known as the Seabury Thomas farm, which includes the ledge 
known as Winthrop's ledge, as it was granted to Gov. John 
Winthrop, May 6, 1656, and described as "the stone quarry, 
south-east of Poquetanuck river, near the foot-path from Mo- 
hegan to Mistick."— Miss Caulkins. [E. G.] 

David Geer w^as born in the town of Groton (now Ledyard), 
in the year 1755. He was the son of Ebenezer and Pru- 



208 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

dence (Wheeler) Geer, and was a descendant of George Geer, the 
first of the Geer family in America. David was of the third 
generation born in this country. When he was born, Connecti- 
cut was a British Colony, and subject to British law. Under that 
law the eldest son had a double portion, David being the young- 
est son received a small inheritance of land, to which he added 
by purchase, and in 1785 he built the house now occupied by 
Isaac W. Geer. By trade he was a tanner, and shoemaker, 
trades that then went together. He carried on farming in con- 
nection with his trade, and accjuired a good estate for the times 
in which he lived. His wife was Mary Stanton, of Stoiiington, 
by whom he had ten children. One child died in infancy. Three 
of the sons settled in this county. David, the eldest, settled in 
Lebanon. From him the Geers oi that town are descended. 
Joseph and Isaac settled in their native place. Three sons, Will- 
iam, Robert and Charles, settled in Central New York, which 
then was a frontier settlement. The daughters were married to 
men who resided in this countv. The subject of this sketch 
died 1835. ' [I. W. G.] 

CoL. Isaac W. Geer, the sixth son of David and Mary 
(Stanton) Geer, was born in the year 1801, and came to the in- 
heritance of the homestead. He lived here and carried on farm- 
ing during his life. In early life he served in the militia where 
he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He had more ambi- 
tion to succeed in personal business affairs than for public life, 
but was honored by several town and society offices. He was 
passionately fond of music. For 25 years he was chorister in 
St. James' Church in Poquetanuck. He was one of the old- 
fashioned singing masters. He taught singing at Meeting-ho^use 
Hill in Ledyard, at Preston Plains, and Poquetanuck. He was 
frequently called upon at funerals to conduct the music. He 
was twice married — first, to Asenath Williams, of Groton, by 
whom he had one daughter. Later he was married to^ Experi- 
ence Avery, of Preston, by whom he had two sons and two 
daughters. He died 1855. 

The children by last wife were Isaac, David, Delia and Louise. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



209 



The eldest son lives on the old homestead in Ledyard and near 
Poquetanuck. The next two are deceased, and the yoimgest 
married Capt Brown and they live a mile south ot the "ferry" in 
Groton, Conn. [I. W. G.] 

Capt. Nathaniel Bellows Geer, the second son of James 
and Sally (Lewis) Geer, was born at Geer homestead, North Gro- 
ton (now Ledyard), Jan. 31, 
1810. He is a descendant, in 
a direct line, in the sixth gen- 
eration, of George Geer, who 
came from England to this 
country in 1635, settling at 
the place now known as Geer 
homestead in 1653, which has 
ever since been continuously 
in possession of his descend- 
ants. In early life he gave 
his attention to farming, af- 
terward engaging in teaching 
in the public schools of Led- 
yard and adjoining towns. 
He was alsO' a surveyor. In 
1832, he was appointed to the captaincy of the fifth company of 
the Eighth Regiment of Infantry in the State, and always re- 
tained the title. In politics, he was a Republican, holding the 
offices of constable, assessor, tything-man, justice of the peace, 
and treasurer of the town deposit fund. As judge of probate 
he served several successive terms, and on reaching the age of 
compulsory retirement from that office, was continued in charge 
as clerk of the court. He was one of the original trustees of the 
Bill Library Association, and a president of the Poquetanuck 
Cemetery Association. 

In early life he became a member of St. James' Church, 
Poquetanuck, and in the various capacities of Sunday-school 
teacher, member of the choir, player of the bass-viol, vestryman, 
collector, delegate to the convention, parish clerk for sixty years, 

14 




Capt. Nathaniel Bellows Geer. 



210 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

and warden for twenty-six years ; until the time of his death, he 
steadfastly wroiiight in the cause of Christ and His Church. 

Nov. 19, 1837, he married Julia, eldest child of Thomas 
and Mary (Shaw) Davis, oi Preston, Conn., whom he survived 
two years. Soon after his marriage, he purchased the farm ad- 
joining Geer homestead, on the south. Here he lived fifty years, 
returning to the ancestral home in 1887, where he spent eleven 
years, being called to the life eternal, Aug. 18, 1898. He left 
two sons and three daughters — Thomas Henry Geer, of Cleve- 
land, Ohio; Albert Davis Geer, of Binghamton, N. Y. ; Misses 
Juliette and Mary A. Geer, of Ledyard, and Mrs. John D. Brew- 
ster, of Norwich, Conn. Also four grand- children — Mrs. Edwin 
L. Thurston, of Cleveland, Ohioi; Harold M. Geer, of Bingham- 
ton, N. Y. ; and Clara Louise and Arthur Morgan Brewster, of 
Norwich, Conn. The immediate family relations of Mr. Geer, 
who survived him, were his brother, James L. Geer, of Norwich, 
Conn., and his sister, Miss Abby Geer, also of Norwich. 

The spirit of his life work is portrayed in tributes to his 
memory, here briefly quoted. 

From the Trustees of the Bill Library Association : "A val- 
uable citizen ; an exemplary Christian gentleman." 

From The Poquetanuck Cemetery Association : "He pos- 
sessed the respect and friendship of all who were associated with 
him in life." 

From The A^r'tC York Churclunan: "Capt. Geer, as he was 
affectionately styled for the half century following his meritorious 
service in the organization of the militia of his native State, was 
a man of mark, one of those whom a community easily counts 
among the pillars of Church and State. He combined, with the 
sweet humility of a disciple of the Christ, the power which quali- 
fies a guide and leader of men. His silent example was a living 
force. Such men as he, combining high ability with the modesty 
which never seeks offtcial promotion, are they who have been and 
continue to be the 'makers' of this nation. And such men as he. 
as humble-minded as they are brave and true-hearted, are they 
whose light of Christian living, shining in a naughty world, gives 
truest glory to Almighty God." [J. G.] 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 21 T 

Dea. John Hurlbut was the son of John, who was the son 
of Stephen, who was a descendant, in the third generation, of 
Thomas Hurlbut, the first of the name in this region who came 
to Sa} brook in 1635. Stephen Hurlbut, the grandfather of Dea. 
John, settled in New London soon after 1690. John, his father, 
settled at Gale's Ferry, and died there May 5, 1761. The subject 
of this sketch was born at Gale's Ferry, March 13, 1730. About 
1757 he was married to Abigail, daughter of Dea. John Avery, 
of Preston, by whom he had eight children — four sons and four 
daughters. After their marriage they lived for several years in 
the north-east part of North Groton (Ledyard), on what has been 
known as the Fhineas Holdridge place. 'Tn the movements 
which immediately preceded the Revolution, Mr. Hurlbut was 
associated with Col. Ledyard, Robert Allyn and Phineas Bill, 
and others in town as a committee of correspondence. As early 
as 1773 he visited the Susquehanna Valley, having bought a right 
in the Connecticut Susquehanna Company. Selling his farm in 
Groton in the summer of v'jy'j, he, in the spring of 1778, with his 
wife and children, with two wagons, horses, cattle, sheep and 
swine, left his home in New England for the Connecticut colony 
on the Susquehanna. Detained on the way by sickness they 
reached their destination in November, 1779. Dea. Hurlbut was 
a member of the General Assembly of Connecticut for three 
years." 

While living in Pennsylvania, the family occasionally visited 
their friends in Connecticut, and generally made the journey on 
horse-back. In one instance Mrs. H., hearing that her father 
was very sick, and fearing that it might be his last sickness, 
started promptly for the home of her childhood by the usual 
mode of travel, with a baby in her arms, and one of her little 
boys, some ten years old, on a pillion behind her. As she ap- 
proached the Housatonic river late in the afternoon, she halted 
at a country tavern, where she had been accustomed to stop on 
previous trips, with the expectation of spending the night there. 
To her great disappointment she was told that the house was 
occupied with a great crowd of people, gathered for a social en- 
tertainment, and that thev could not accommodate her. Slie 



212 HISTORY OF" THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

was told, however, that she could find a good stopping-place a 
few miles further on, just over the river. So she pushed on. As 
she came to the place where she supposed the bridge ought to 
be it was so dark that she could see nothing distinctly, but could 
hear the water rushing by with great violence, the result of a 
recent storm. Presently, her horse came tO' a full stop. She 
urged it to go forward, and it did so, though with slow and 
measured step. Pretty soon she came tO' the tavern to which she 
had been directed, and, upon inquiring if they could keep her 
over night, was glad to receive an affirmative answer. "But," 
said the keeper of the tavern, "How did you get over the river?" 
"Why," she replied, "I rode over on the bridge, I suppose." 
"But," said he, "the bridge was swept away with the flood a few 
hours ago." Here the matter rested for the night. And in the 
morning it was found upon examination that the faithful horse, 
with his precious burden, had walked over the boiling flood on 
one of the stringers of the bridge which the swollen river had not 
displaced. Dea. Hurlbut died March lo, 1782, aged 52. Mrs. 
Hurlbut lived on into the following century, dying March 29, 
1805, at the age of 70. She is said tO' have been a woman of great 
personal worth, and withal a very devoted Christian. "There is 
evidence, too', that her patriotism was no less than that of her 
husl^and, for it is told that she first proposed to- send their two 
oldest sons — one aged 19 and the other 16 — to^ aid in their coun- 
try's necessities." 

Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt was born May 19, 1767. On Jan. 
10, 1790, he married Mary Jones, daughter of John and Sarah 
Jones. She was born Dec. 2, 1765, and died Dec. 20, 1851, 
aged 86 years. Rev. Mr. Hurlbutt was descended in a direct 
line from Lieut. Thomas Hurlbutt, who was appointed to the 
conunand of the fort at Saybrook, Conn., 1636, and afterwards 
settled in Wethersfield. Stephen Hurlbutt, great-grandfather 
of Ralph, settled in New London, Conn., between 1680 and 1690. 
His grandfather, John Hurlbutt, grew up and settled in North 
Groton (Ledyard). His father, Rufus Hurlbutt, was killed in 
Fort Griswold, Sept. 6, 1781, aged 40 years. The subject of this 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 2I3 

sketch early embraced the Methodist faith and became a minister. 
It was largely through his instrumentality that the Methodist 
Church at Gale's Ferry was established. He supplied the pulpit 
of this church without compensation during a large part of his 
active life. He preached almost to the last days of his life, his 
last sermon while sitting in a chair, being unable to stand. He 
was thoroughly devoted to the interests of his church, and al- 
ways ready to make any personal sacrifice for the good of the 
cause. He was a justice of the peace for many years, holding 
the office till disqualified by age. He was for a long period 
judge of probate. For the varied services performed by him, 
whether in behalf of the town or the probate district, he was re- 
markably well qualified ; and in each and all of them he proved 
himself a faithful and efficient officer. As a minister of the 
Gospel he was not liberally educated, and not learned in the 
ordinary sense of the word, yet he was a reader and a thinker, 
and a very instructive preacher, accustomed to present the truths 
of the Bible in such ways that they would be remembered. In 
the pulpit he spoke without notes, yet with great freedom and 
correctness, and often with a fervid earnestness that was very im- 
pressive. He died May 8, 1850, mourned by a large circle of 
friends, and is still widely and afifectionately remembered. 

Ralph Hurlbutt, 2nd, nephew of Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt, 
was born in Colchester (now Salem), in 1807. From 1810 on- 
ward his home was in North Groton (now Ledyard). He repre- 
sented the town of Ledyard in the State Legislature in 1854. He 
was a trustee of the Bill Library Association from the time of its 
organization to the time of his death which occurred June 25, 
1886. He was- married in 1833 to Margaret Bolles. Of their five 
children, Ralph Wilbur died Jan. 10, 1863, aged 23, and Mary 
Annie died Dec. i, 1859, aged 17. 

Capt. Adam Larrabee, sO'U of Frederic and Abigail (Allyn) 
Larrabee, was born in that part of Groton which is now Ledyard, 
March 14, 1787. At the age of twenty-one he entered the Mili- 
tarv Academv at West Point, and remained there till he had com- 



214 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



pleted the prescribed course of study. He was then appointed 
second lieutenant of light artillery, and a few months later was 
promoted and made first lieutenant. "His service at that time 

was in garrisons on the At- 
lantic coast, though he 
also participated in the 
campaign along the north- 
ern frontier in 1812. His 
next service was under 
General Wilkinson on the 
St. Lawrence, where he was 
engaged in the attack on 
La Colle Mills, March 30, 
1814. In this engagement 
he was shot through the 
lungs, the bullet lodging 
against the shoulder-blade, 
whence it was removed by 
the surgeon. After being 
thus wounded he was car- 
ried some twenty miles in 
an open sleigh to the house 
of Chancellor Reuben Hyde Walworth, where he was tenderly 
cared for by the family. It was no> doubt due largely to this ex- 
cellent nursing that his life was saved. He was soon after pro- 
moted to a captaincy, but resigned his commission in 181 5." 
After retiring from the military service his principal occupation 
was that of a farmer, first in Groton, where he resided till 1853, 
when he removed tO' Windham, where he spent the remainder of 
his life. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Repre- 
sentatives in 1822; one of the board of visitors to the Military 
Academy in 1828, and one of the presidential electors in 1840. 
He was for more than forty years a director of the Thames Na- 
tional Bank, Norwich. In 1817 he was married to Hannah 
(jallup Lester, wliO' bore him nine cliildren, all of whom survived 
him, except his son, John, who died in 1852. Capt. Larrabee 
died at Windham, Oct. 25, 1869, aged 82. His upright char- 




Capt. Adam Larrabee. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



215 



acler and exemplary conduct commanded the respect and esteem 
of all who knew him. His memory is cherished with affection 
bv a larsre circle of friends. 



Ex-Gov. William Larrabee, of Clermont, Fayette County, 
Iowa, son of Adam and Hannah G. (Lester) Larrabee, was born 
Jan. 20, 1832, in North Groton, Conn, (now Ledyard), and was 

the seventh child and the 
fifth son of a family of nine 
children, and was raised on 
the farm where he was 
born, which formerly be- 
longed to his Lester ances- 
tors. In early childhood 
and youth he was slender 
in stature, yet his general 
health was good ; but when 
seventeen years of age he 
suffered a great misfortune 
by losing the sight of his 
right eye, which has been 
more or less painful, and a 
great and a very serious in- 
convenience for these 
Gov. William Larrabee. many years. 

He was educated in the 
district school of the town, but he always had access to his 
father's library which was well supplied with valuable books. 

The last winter that he lived in Ledyard he taught school 
in the district where he was raised. 

In the fall of 1853 he left Connecticut for Iowa ; and soon 
after his arrival there he engaged in corn harvesting, which was 
about the only labor the country afforded at that season of the 
year ; and a little later he engaged a school for the winter which 
was held in a log school-house where, a portion of the time, he 
was compelled to wear his overcoat during the day to protect 
himself from the extreme cold. 




2l6 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

The next three succeeding years he was engaged as foreman 
on the two-thousand-acre farm belonging to his brother-in-law, 
the late Judge Elias H. Williams. This farm was largely 
brought under improvement from the raw prairie by breaking 
and fencing while under his supervision. While engaged in this 
enterprise he used to drive one of the teams of six pairs of oxen 
on a breaking plow. At this time the farm was quite remote 
from neighbors, but one of the few that he was favored with has 
since become speaker of the House of Representatives — Hon. 
David B. Henderson. 

After leaving Judge Williams' employ he engaged with 
partners in flour manufacturing, and labored vigorously, early 
and late, with indififerent success. 

A little later his partners retired from the business leaving him 
sole proprietor oi a mill of two hundred barrels capacity per day. 
But the results were far more gratifying than fonnerly. This 
enterprise involved quite a large capital, also much care and 
labor — at times confining him nineteen hours per day. 

In the fall of 1861 he married. Anna Appelman, the oldest 
daughter of the late Capt. Gustavus and Prudence Ann (Will- 
iams) Appelman, formerly from Mystic and Ledyard, Conn. 
They have had seven children, three sons and four daughters, 
and six are living. 

Probably the loss of his eye prevented his entering the army 
in the War of the Rebellion, but he contributed freely for the 
government in those trying times. He has always been intense- 
ly loyal to the government, also to the State of his adoption. 

After living in Iowa some twenty years, Mr. Larrabee en- 
tered the political arena. The special occasion of his doing it 
was this : The people of his county felt that they had been, 
without good reason, passed by in the laying out of railroads 
through the State. It was to advocate their interests in this 
matter that he was elected a member of the State Senate in 1868. 
He entered earnestly upon the work entrusted to him, but failed 
in his first endeavors. He was re-elected the next term and re- 
newed the contest, and persisted till success crowned his efforts. 
After serving in the Senate for eighteen consecutive years he 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 21/ 

was solicited to run for Governor, and finally consented. In the 
nominating' convention that year — 1881,- — a rival candidate re- 
ceived a few more votes than he. F'our years later he was the 
regular nominee of his party, and was chosen Governor by a 
majority of 7,000. Two years later still his re-election to the 
same office was b}' a majority of 16,000. 

His first term as Governor was largely g'ivcn to the contest 
over prohibition. Thoug'h he had at an earlier period opposed 
prohibition, yet when prohibition became the policy of the State 
he felt that it oug'ht to be enforced, and did all that he could to 
have it enforced, and with most satisfactory results. 

During- his second term as Governor, the question of the 
State supervision of railroads came up. He contended earnestly 
for such supervision, sometimes single-handed and aloiie, and 
this against all the legal talent and all the money influence which 
the railroads could array against him. But, in due time, he 
achieved complete and triumphant success. A law. embracing 
the principles which he advocated, was passed bv the Legisla- 
ture without a dissenting vote ; and that law is preserved as if it 
were something sacred. 

He has published a Treatise on railroads which is esteemed 
by those specially interested in such matters. 

In February, 1900, Gov. Larrabee resigned his office as a 
member of the State Board of Control, an office which he had 
held about two years. 

Pretty soon after, with four members of his family, he started 
on a journey to Europe, being possessed of ample means for 
such luxurious recreation. 

The Dcs Moiiics Leader, of Feb. 11, 1900, speaking of his 
late retirement from office, uses the following language : "It is 
not saying more than is warranted to declare that no man in 
Iowa to-day possesses so large a share of the public confidence in 
his integrity, earnestness of purpose and devotion to public good 
as Gov. Larrabee.'' 

Capt. Nathan F. Larrabee, oldest son of Capt. Adam Lar- 
rabee, was born in North Groton, Oct. ii, i8i8, "On the day 



211 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



he arrived at the age of twenty-one his father, to gratify the boy's 
fond ambition, went with him to New York and shipped him 'to 
go before the mast,' in the Hne of London packets of Grinnell, 

Minturn & Co. His first 
trip was a severe one, and 
his master was surprised, 
upon their arrival in New 
York, to have the boy ask 
for a second voyage, which 
was readily granted. He 
rapidly rose, on account of 
his merit and faithfulness, 
to be master of one of the 
largest vessels owned by 
the firm. He remained in 
the employ of this firm 
through his entire active 
life of forty years ; and 
during all those years lost 
but one trip." Most of his 
voyages were between 
New York and London. 
Several of them, however, were between New York and China. 
Capt. Larrabee was a great favorite with the numerous passen- 
gers who crossed the ocean in his ships, and, indeed, with all 
who came to know him well. His strictly temperate habits and 
his thorough devotion to duty won for him a high place in their 
estimation. He was never married. When overtaken with what 
proved to be his last sickness, he retired to the home of his 
brother, Hon. Henry Larrabee, of Windham, where he was ten- 
derly cared for by loving friends till his painful sickness, of sev- 
eral weeks' continuance, terminated in his death on Sept. 13, 
1879, at the age of 61. 




Capt. Nathan F. Larrabee. 



Hon. Henry Larrabee, fourth son and sixth child of Capt. 
Adam and Hannah G. (Lester) Larrabee, was born in North 
Groton, now Ledyard, April 15, 1830. He was educated in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



219 



public schools of his native town, became a farmer, and has con- 
tinned in that occupation through life. He held the office of 
selectman many years. He was a member of the enrolling com- 
mittee during- the closing 
portion of the Civil War, 
in 1865. He has been a 
member of the Bill Library 
Assoiciatio'n from the date 
of its organization. He was 
a member of the House 
of Representatives in the 
State Legislature in 1868, 
and of the Senate in 1875. 
Mr. Larrabee moved to 
Windham in 1878, and 
from that time to the pres- 
ent has been a resident of 
that town, and held office 
in it much after the same 
fashion that he did in Led- 
yard. He worships with 
the Congregational 
Church, and has often served on the committee of the Ecclesiasti- 
cal Society. For many years he has been accustomed to settle 
estates. Large amounts of property have passed through his 
hands, and in the management of these important trusts he has 
commanded the confidence of all w'ho have known him. He has 
been a trustee of the Norwich Savings Society for thirty years, a 
director for twenty-five years, and a vice-president for ten years ; 
also a director of the Windham National Bank some eight or ten 
years. Mr. Larrabee has made valuable contributions to this 
history. He has given much time to the preparation of the lists 
of soldiers, and furnished many facts and statistics that have been 
wrought into the work. 

Mr. Larrabee was married March 17, 1853. to Miss Maria S. 
Allyn, daughter of Christopher and Maria Allyn. They have 
had ten children — seven sons and three daughters. Only two 




Hon. Henry Larrabee. 



220 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

sons and one daughter, Mrs. Lucius Brown, of Norwich, are now 
living. Mrs. Larrabee died Dec. 20, 1898. 

Samuel S. Lamb, son of Daniel W. and Hannah (Culver) 
Lamb, was born in Groton, April 21, 1816. He began teaching 
at the age of seventeen, and continued at the work over fifty 
years. The following sketch of his career, as a teacher, is taken 
from the published account of the "Celebration of the Fiftieth 
Anniversary" of his teaching : 

"The fiftieth anniversary of public school teaching by Samuel 
S. Lamb, of Groton, was observed on Thursday, Aug. 16, 1883, 
by a basket picnic on his farm. At noon the anniversary exer- 
cises commenced according to programme. The large crowd 
filled the tent. Capt. J. K. Bucklyn, of the Mystic Valley In- 
stitute, presided with tact and efficiency. The music was con- 
ducted by Mr. Simeon Gallup, who had a large, well-trained choir 
at his command ; they enlivened the day with several choice se- 
lections. At the organ was Prof. Griest, of Baltimore, who 
opened with a voluntary, followed by a song. Rev. C. H. Rowe, 
of Mystic River, read the Scriptures, and Rev. J. A. Gallup, of 
Madison, offered prayer. Mr. S. S. Lamb, the veteran, but hale 
hero of the day, then came forward to greet his friends, giving an 
interesting sketch of his school life : 

"At the age of thirteen, in the old red school-house of Led- 
yard, he became master of the 'three R's.' Daboll's Arithmetic, 
Woodbridge's Geography, Murray's Grammar, the Testament, 
the English Reader and Webster's Spelling Book were the text 
books. From thirteen to fifteen, he studied much at home — 
some of his teachers during that time not being very efficient. 
At seventeen he began to teach in the Ninth Groton or Fishtown 
district. One of the examiners who^ signed his first certificate, 
Henry Haley, was present at the gathering. The spring of 1835 
found him at Colchester, under the faithful instruction of Charles 
P. Otis, A. M., principal of Bacon Academy, and from this source 
he derived valuable infcirmation in regard to his choLsen calling. 
Day's Algebra, Playfair's Euclid, and Mr. Otis' Order of Exer- 
cises in Grammar, were leading studies, He attended Joseph 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 221 

H. Gallup's school at Poquetaniick, and then for two years he 
was a student in the Suffield Literary Institution. There he sub- 
stantially prepared himself for college, but did not enter for the 
lack of means. He rarely taught sunnners, but worked hard 
farming, except in the Mystic River graded school, where he 
taught the year round for two years. ^Ir. Lamb did not men- 
tion his teaching in a graded school in New Jersey, nor his 
teaching select schools from time to time. Over one thousand 
pupils, first and last, have been under his instruction, for which 
he received about $7,000, or, on an average, $140 per year; and 
he might have added, a sum quite too small for the service ren- 
dered. He had never been obliged to ask for a situation, but his 
services had always been sought. His experience had been long, 
but he said it had not made him sage. He thought teaching 
was an honorable calling. It was not always a healthy one, but 
if the teacher was conscientious and faithful, was surely laborious. 
He spoke of one school where he had eighty-nine enrolled, and 
eighty-five in attendance in a day ; where the recess at noon had 
to be shortened, and later hours kept in order to accomplish the 
object ; and that was supplemented by an evening school for 
volunteers to receive additional instruction, and every moment 
not used in eating and sleeping must be improved for the benefit 
of the school. Those days were full of labor, but they were 
happy days. He had been on the board of education six years 
in Ledyard, and over thirty in Groton. He took pleasure in 
acknowledging his indebtedness to Mr. Palmer Gallup, deceased, 
long a teacher of youth in Groton, in Suffield Institute and else- 
where. His advice to young teachers, or aspirants present, Who 
wanted the best situations was to deserve them. 

"The president of the day then made a short, pithy address. 

"He then introduced the orator of the day, Rev. John W. 
Richardson, of New London. His subject was : 'Free Schools.' 
To say that it was an elegant tribute would be insufficient, for he 
was forcible, instructive and full of enthusiasm ; seeming to be- 
lieve with his whole soul his own grand, often startling and 
radical propositions. In our judgment it is unsurpassed in its 



222 HISTORV OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

discussion of the progress of the United States as a nation, and 
the causes which underlie that progress and its greatness." 

Mr. I.amb was thrice married. P^irst to Miss Eliza Gallup, 
March 20, 1842. She bore him three children and died May 
22, 1859. 

His second marriage was to Miss Parthenia Morgan. The 
fruit of this marriage was one child, a daughter. 

His third wife was Miss Harriet E. Gallup, to whom he was 
married July 23, 1865. She died Jan. 6, 1892. 

Mr. Lamb died Jan. 2, 1892. 

Col. William Morgan, son of Christopher and Margaret 
(Gates) Morgan, was born March 28, 1809. His education was 
limited to what the public schools of his native town were able 
to give him. At the age of sixteen, he left school, and served 
several years as an apprentice to the carpenter's trade. • The 
years of his mature manhood were mainly given to carpentry and 
farming. A fondness for general reading, made him a well-in- 
formed man. He was frequently heard on public occasions ; and 
was regarded as an earnest and forceful speaker. In politics he 
was originally a Whig ; but upon the formation of the Republican 
party he entered its ranks at the beginning, and became one of its 
ardent supporters. He was a great admirer of Seward, Sumner, 
and Greeley. With the last-named he had a personal acquaint- 
ance, which was promoted by frequent correspondence. He was 
a prominent actor in all matters pertaining to the general welfare 
of the community ; was colonel of militia, selectman, town agent, 
justice of the peace, county commissioner, representative in the 
State Legislature, and for many years a faithful and efficient 
overseer of the Pequot Indians, whose reservation is located in 
the north part of the town of Ledyard. Though not a church 
member he was an active member and supporter of the ecclesiasti- 
cal society coiunected with the Congregational Church. Col. 
Morgan was married Feb. 22, 1836, to Cynthia Billings, daugh- 
ter of Stephen and Martha Billings. They settled in Ledyard, 
on the place now (1900) occupied by Dea. Beckwitli. Their 
children were 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



223 



Augusta, born July j8, 1837. married Oct. i, r86o, Wm. A. 
Gallup, died Sept. 28, 1890. 

Julia, born Aug. 18, 1839, married June 25, 1861. Chas. Stan- 
ton, died Jan. 11, 1896. 

William, born Sept. 26, 1844, married Frances E. Niles. 

Christopher, born Oct. 11, 1852, married Edith Xoyes. 

Col. Morgan, died Nov. 3, 1859, aged 50. 

His wife died Aug. 10, i860, aged 50. 



Stephen Henry Norman, youngest of the seven children of 
Thomas and Hannah (Stoddard) Norman, was born in Groton 
(now Ledyard), Aug. 30, 1825. With the exceptiou of one term 

in Bacon. Academy, Col- 
chester, his education was 
acquired in the public 
schools of his native place. 
He began tO' teach in his 
sixteenth year ; and quite 
early in life had established 
a good reputation as a 
teacher. He taught the 
school in the Allyn district 
one year. He spent one 
year as book-keeper in the 
dry goods store of A. T. 
Stewart, New York. About 
i860 he spent a year in the 
service of the Harper 
Brothers, New York. 

In 1865 he was teaching 
a public school in New- 
port, R. I., when he was unexpectedly requested to abandon his 
work as a teacher and assume that of a banker. The cashier of 
the Aquidneck National Bank of that city had become a de- 
faulter. The directors were looking for some one to take his 
place, when one of their number, who had become well ac- 
quainted with Mr. Norman, and fonned meantime a high esti- 




Stephen H. Norman, Esq. 



224 HISTORV OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

mate of his ability and character, spoke of him as just such a 
man as they needed in the office now vacant. When the thing 
was mentioned tO' Mr. Norman he at once rephed, "I know 
nothing about banking." "But," said one of the gentleman con- 
ferring with him, "You can learn." The upshot of the matter 
was that he gave up his school, went into the bank on a salary 
ol $900 a year, and began at once to learn the business to which 
he W2s thus introduced. In due time he learned it thoroughly, 
and became a very successful cashier. 

"PVoni 1873 tO' his death he was cashier of the National Ex- 
change Bank on Washington square. He was the originator 
of the Island Savings Bank and one of its incorporators, and 
was its treasurer from its start. Careful and methodical in all 
his affairs and giving his full and undivided attention to busi- 
ness, he made the banks yield profitable dividends to the stock- 
holders and accumulated a generous competency, estimated at 
$150,000, for himself." [From Nczvport Mercury for Aug. i, 
1891.] 

He died in Newport, R. I., July 27, 1891. His remains were 
interred in the Ledyard cemetery. Conn. 

Mr. Norman was never married. One brother and three 
sisters, living in Ledyard, survived him. 

Hibbard R. Norman, the elder brother, remained with his 
sisters 011 the homestead, where he still resides. 

Rev. Samuel Seabury, D. D., was born in the first Episcopal 
rectory in America, which formerly stood just westerly oi the 
present Bill parsonage in Ledyard, Nov. 30, 1729. He was a son 
of Rev. Samuel Seabury, who began preaching as a licentiate in 
the Congregational denomination, but soon went over to Episco- 
pacy, and became at length the first minister of St. James' 
Church, New London. The son was graduated at Yale College 
in 1748. He was admitted to Orders by the Bishop of Loudon 
in 1754. t'or some eighteen or twenty years he preached in 
different places m the vicinity of New York City. Upon the 
breaking out of the Revolutionary War he left his parish and 
moved into the city, and for a time served as chaplain in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 22^ 

British army, being a Royalist, like most of the Episcopal clergy 
in the Northern States. After the restoration of peace he was 
chosen by the Episcopal clergy of Connecticut, their first Bishop ; 
and immediately went to England, to secure, if possible, conse- 
cration to the of^ce. But the relations between the two coun- 
tries just at that time were such that the English clergy were 
very reluctant to grant his request. They felt that they could 
not consistently consecrate a bishop for a foreign land, which 
the United Slates had now become, and require him to take 
oaths which no true American could honestly take. The govern- 
ment, too, was very cautious about doing anything which might 
incense America. After a good deal of vexatious delay, Mr. Sea- 
bury went to Scotland, where he soon secured the end he was 
seeking. He was consecrated at Aberdeen, by the bishop of that 
place, Nov. 14, 1784. Returning to America he entered at once 
upon the duties oi his office, and held his first ordination — the 
first Episcopal ordination in America — at Middletown, Aug. 3, 
1785. Having already been chosen rector of St. James' Church. 
New London, he took up his residence in that city, and con- 
tinued to live there in the discharge of ministerial duties till the 
time of his death, which occurred Feb. 25, 1796. Upon the com- 
pletion of the new church edifice, in 1849, his remains were re- 
moved from the public cemetery, where they had lain for over 
half a century, and placed beneath the chancel. He was married 
early in life to a Miss Hicks, of New York. They had three 
sons and two daughters. His biographer. Dr. Hallam, says of 
Bishop Seabury, that "in person he was large, robust and vigor- 
ous. His appearance was dignified and commanding, and, in the 
performance of his official functions, inspired universal reverence. 
His mind was forcible and clear. His reading was extensive, and 
his memory a store-house of knowledge." He published a large 
number of addresses, sermons and essays. 

DwiGHT Satterlee, M. D., was the youngest child of Elisha 
A. and Hester S. Satterlee and was born near Gale's Ferry, 
March 24, 1837, being one of the sixth generation born on the 
same spot. His early years were spent on a farm, attending 

15 



22b HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

district school in winter, and helping his father on the farm in 
svimmer. When about sixteen years of age he attended the 
Providence Conference Seminary at East Greenwich, R. I., and 
afterwards a school at Charlottsville, N. Y. He was an as- 
sistant teacher at the Bartlett High School in New London for 
nearly two years. He studied medicine with Dr. Lord, of New 
London, afterwards pursuing his medical studies at the University 
of Vermont, and graduating in medicine at the Berkshire Medi- 
cal College in the winter of 1862. He was commissioned as- 
sistant surgeon of the Eleventh Regiment, Connecticut Volun- 
teers, in February, 1863, and served with that regiment almost 
three years, or until it was mustered out of service in December, 
1865. Previously, he was commissioned major oi the regiment. 
In 1867 he moved to Iowa, and settled in the new town of Dunlap, 
in the western portion of the State. The country at that time 
was very sparsely settled, and in practicing his profession he fre- 
cjuently rode distances of twenty and thirty miles, including four 
counties. 

In 1870 he was married tO' Anna E. Hickox, who with her 
parents had moved to Iowa, from Rockville, Conn., a year or 
two previously. The union has been blessed with four children, 
three of whom, two daughters and one son are now living. Be- 
sides the practice of medicine. Dr. Satterlee engaged in the drug 
business in 1869. He was one of Dunlap's pioneer postmasters, 
and, subsequently, after retiring from active professional life, 
was for nine years county commissioner. He also owned and 
managed a large stock farm, and still holds an interest in bank- 
ing and other concerns in Dunlap and elsewhere. Soon after 
locating at Dunlap, the doctor united with the Congregational 
Church, in which he has since taken an active interest. His has 
been a successful business career, and at present he lives to enjoy 
the fruits of his years of toil. [D. S.] 

Capt. Edmund Spicer was born in North Groton, Jan. 11, 
1 81 2. He was a grandson of Edmund and Abigail (Allyn) 
Spicer. His parents were John Spicer, born Aug. 14, 1770, died 
June 2, 1856, and Elizabeth Latham, born July 23, 1775, died 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



227 



June 10, 1859. They were married Sept. 7, 1794. Their chil- 
dren were 

Prudence, born May i, 1795, died May 25, 1864. 

Abigail, born, Aug. 21, 1797, died Dec. 25, 1849. 

Isaac, born Sept. 

19, 1799, died Nov. 
30, 1861. 

John S e a b u r y, 
born Api-il 30, 1802, 
died Sept. — 1829. 

Fanny, born Aug. 

20, 1804, died March 
II, 1894. 

Gurdon Bill, born 
Nov. 14, 1806, died 
Sept. 8, 1816. 

Mary Avery, born 
March 28, 1809, died 
July 9, 1824. 

Edmund, born 
Jan. II, 1812, died 
May I, 1890. 




Capt. Edmund Spicbr. 



Elizabeth, born Feb. 25, 1815, died June 28, 1854. 

Cynthia, born Sept. 5, 1817, died Feb. 28, 1818. 

Ednunid Spicer was educated in the public schools of his 
native place, and in his early manhood was a successful teacher 
in these schools for quite a number oi terms. Later in life he 
was for many years a member of the school board. His regular 
vocation was that of a farmer, and with it he at length combined 
that of a merchant. He was postmaster from 1867 to the time of 
his death. He became captairi of the rifle company to which he 
belonged, and the title adhered to him through the remainder 
of his life. Among the offices which he held, by appointment 
of the town, was that of selectman, seven years, between 1836 and 
1851 ; clerk and treasurer from 1853 to 1865 ; representative in the 
State Legislature in 1849. He was a candidate for the State 



228 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Senate in 1862. He was judge of probate for twelve years, be- 
ginning in 1855. He was one of the charter members of the 
Bill Library Association, and was secretary of the association 
eighteen years in succession, retiring from the office in 1885. 
He was treasurer and librarian from 1867 till his death in 1890. 
Mr. Spicer united with the Congregational Church in 1843. His 
wife and children were also members of this church. He often 
served on the cliurch committee, also on the standing committee 
of the ecclesiastical society. 

He was married Nov. 16, 1836, to Bethia W. Avery, daugh- 
ter of John Sands and Bethia (Williams) Avery, of Groton. 
Their children were 

Mary Abby, born Sept. 23, 1837, married George Fanning, 
April 16, 1862. 

John Sands, born Sept. 20, 1842. married Anna M. Williams, 
May 27, 1873. 

Joseph Latham, born 
March 4, 1845, <Jied Sept. 

3. 1847- 

Sarah Elizabeth, born 
Aug. 3, 1847, married 
Xathan L. Lester, May 24. 
1871. 

Carrie Gallup, born May 
28, 1850, married Amos 
Lester, May 28, 1868. 

Cecelia Williams, born 
Sept. 30, 1852, married 
Jonathan F. Lester, May 
28, 1873. 

Edward Eugene, born 
July 25, 1856, married 
Sarah A. Griswold, Dec. 
22, 1878. 

Geoirge Walter, born Dec. 25, 1858. 

At the close of the last century, twenty-nine grand-children 
had been born to Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Spicer, six of whom had 




John S. Spicer. 



BIOGRAPPIICAL SKETCHES. 



229 



died. Mrs. Spicer, after a very active and useful life, died March 
7, 1886, aged 59. Mr. Spicer survived her a little over four 
years, when his busy and prosperous life was terminated by 
death, May i, 1890, at the age of 78. 

John S. Spicer succeeded to his father's business, and was 
the postmaster, and kept the store at the Centre for a number 
of years. He removed to Norwich about 1893, and is there 
engaged in the grocery trade on Water street. He has several 
children. 



Guy C.\rlton Stoddard was born May 11, 1790, in Groton, 
Conn., and was the son of Vine Stoddard and Abigail Avery, his 
wife. He came from good old Revolutionary stock, his father 

being lieutenant and 
his grandfather, 
Ralph S t O' d d a r d; 
captain in the Revo- 
lutionary service, 
both appointed by 
Gov. Jonathan Trum- 
bull. He had two* sis- 
ters and two broth- 
ers. Tlie following is 
a copy of an article 
which appeared in a 
No^rwich, Conn., 
paper, at the time of 
his death, March 31, 
1882, and expresses 
the sentiments of the 
writer of tiiis, per- 
"An ancient landmark 
of Guv C. Stoddard, of 




Guy C. Stoddard, Esq. 



haps better than anything else could : 

was swept away in the death, last week 

old age, after a few days of painful illness. Mr. Stoddard was 

almost a centenarian and was one of the most widely known 

and respected of our citizens. He was a life-long Democrat, 



230 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

and an influential man. All but the last years of his life were 
spent at the Stoddard homestead here. Mr. Stoddard was a 
Master Mason, though long since retired from active working 
with that order. As early as 1819, he was elected constable, and 
subsequently during all the years of his business life he filled 
various ofttces in the gift of the town, Groton, and later, Led- 
yard. Previous to the setting ofif of Ledyard from Groton he 
was elected a member of the Connecticut House of Representa- 
tives for several terms. In 1842 he was a successful candidate 
for Senator, from what was then the Seventh district. He early 
retired from the political field, however, although a brilliant 
future was opened before him, preferring the quiet of his coun- 
try home and surroundings to the greed and wiles of a political 
life. In 1846 he was appointed a notary public by Gov. Isaac 
Toucey. All his public positions and duties were filled with 
dignity and honor to his constituents. Mr. Stoddard was a 
soldier in the War of 1812, and used to relate interesting details 
of his participation in the memorable battle of Stonington Point. 
He early identified himself with the interest of his town and was 
foremost in many of the leading reforms of his time. He joined 
the M. E. Church here Sept. 2^. 1868. He died at the resi- 
dence of his daughter, Mrs. Julia A. Adams, where the last 
years of his life were spent, and his funeral was largely attended. 
Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren followed his 
body to the grave. He was a perfect sample of the gentleman 
of the old school, and although he had attained sO' great an age, 
and outlived so many of his relatives, yet he will be long held 
in grateful remembrance by many. He has gone down to- his 
grave full of years and honors. Two sons and four daughters 
survive him. The Nciv Haven Register and the Nczv London Day 
have published appropriate and graceful comments ou the 
death of this aged man." 

Sanford Billings Stoddard, eldest son of Sanford Stod- 
dard, was born in North Groton (Ledyard), Dec. 4, 1813. His 
father was a sea captain. Plaving received a commou school 
education young Stoddard went oii the water with his father 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 23 1 

while yet a boy. At the age ol twenty-one he went before the 
mast. Two years later he became mate; and serving- in that 
capacity for two years he was again promoted to the position of 
captain. In 1842 he married Miss Mary, daughter of Hibbard 
Stoddard, of Ledyard. Their children were Mary Elizabeth, 
Sanford B. and Jane F. Mr. Stoddard left the sea soon after 
he was married, and spent the remainder of his life in farming, 
occupying the place which had been in the possession of the 
family since 1700. He died in 1892, and Mrs. Stoddard in 1895. 
Their daughter, Mary E., and their son, Sanford B., died young. 
Their daughter, Jane P., was married to S. A. Crandall. After 
becoming the mother of two children, a daughter and a son, she 
died in 1885, aged 34. The family were members and liberal 
supporters ol the Congregational Church in Ledyard. 

Orlando Smith was the ninth child and sixth son of Shubael 
Smith, and his wife, Sarah Raymond, and was born in Ledyard, 
Feb. 14, 1814. 

Shubael Smith was a direct descendant of Rev. Nehemiah 
Smith, one of the first settlers of Norwich, Conn. 

Sarah Raymond was a descendant of Dea. Joshua Raymond, 
of New London. 

In Ledyard were born all. save the eldest, of the family of 
eleven children and they lived at the "Smith homestead." In 
addition to the managing of his farm, Mr. Smith carried on quite 
an extensive business in buying and shipping mules to the South 
and the West Indies. He died in 1823 at the age of 48, leaving 
a widow and nine children, several of them of quite tender years. 
L'pon Mrs. Smith rested the burden of great responsibilities. 

Orlando received a sound and excellent training, developing 
principles of honesty and integrity and acquiring habits of in- 
dustry, economy and self-reliance which remained with him 
through life. 

He received such educational advantages as the schools of 
his native town afforded, and was a good scholar, with a special 
aptitude for mathematics. He supplemented his somewhat 
limited education by studious habits and well-chosen reading 



232 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

and was always a lover of good books. In his youth, he learned 
the trade of a stone mason, an occupation which he followed for 
several years. In his early manhood, a great wave of enthusiasm 
for Western emigration swept over New England. In this 
movement the State of Connecticut has always borne a con- 
spicuous part and the town of Ledyard has contribtited some of 
her most promising sons to the making of the West. With a 
coimpany of young men from his native town, Orlando Smith 
went to Joliet, 111. He was much impressed with the new coun- 
try ; but fell a victim to malaria and returned home so^ shattered 
in health that it took many months for him to recuperate. 

He then resumed his trade of stone masonry and with care 
and good management developed a fair business. In 1839, Mr. 
Smith decided to locate in the enterprising village of Westerly, 
R. I. Thoug'h then in their infancy, the manufacturing interests 
of the town were developing and the place was growing, thus 
affording good opportunities for the building contracts which 
he wished to secure. 

Being constantly on the lookout for good l^uilding material, 
Mr. Smith discovered, on the farm formerly owned by Dr. 
Joshua Babcock, the stone which proved to be the celebrated 
Westerly granite. 

That year was a fortunate one for Mr. Smith in another re- 
spect as it witnessed his marriage to an estimable young woman, 
also born in Ledyard, Emeline, daughter of Isaac Gallup, Esq., 
of Preston. 

Three years later the purchase of the farm on Quarry Hill was 
completed, the family was established in the old Babcock home- 
stead, and Mr. Smith prepared tO' develop the granite business 
which was destined tO' become one of the most important in- 
dustries of his adopted town. 

Although the quarry was opened and originally worked 
chiefly for the purpose of supplying building material, the possi- 
bilities of the fine, enduring granite for monumental jiurposes, 
soon became apparent and the development of the business along 
that line has been of marked importance, fully keeping in touch 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 233 

with the wants of a people constantly advancing in wealth, 
culture and artistic taste. 

Mr. Smith died after a short illness, at the age of 45, May 30, 
1859, leaving a widow and four children to mourn the loss of a 
devoted husband and father. 

Mr. Smith was a director of the National Phenix Bank and 
one of the founders and original members of the Pawcatuck Con- 
gregational Church, of Westerly. 

Mrs. Emeline (Gallup) Smith survived her husband twenty- 
seven years, being spared to be the comfort and stay of her family. 

The children of the marriage were 

Orlando Raymond, born June i, 1851, died Oct. 19, 1898. 

Sarah Almira, now Mrs. Otis P. Chapman, born June 16. 1853. 

Julia Emeline, born Feb. 16, 1855. 

Isaac Gallup, born June 5, 1857, died Jwlv 12, 1888. 

[J. E. S.] 

Rev. Robert E. Turner, son of Erastus H. and Betsey 
(Wilcox) Turner, was born in Ledyard, May 17, 1852. He ob- 
tained his early education in the district and select schools of 
Ledyard. He taught in the public schools of Ledyard and 
vicinity six years. He then worked at the carpenter's trade in 
Norwich, contracting and building for about seven years. Dur- 
ing a large part of this time as lay preacher he occupied the pulpit 
of the chapel at Brewster's Neck. He was ordained to the 
gospel ministry, Oct. 8, 1890, in the Central Baptist Church, Nor- 
wich. He soon became pastor of the Baptist Church at Fitch- 
ville. jSIeantime he entered the Newton Theological Seminary, 
and pursuing a regular course of study there, was graduated in 
1892. Before his graduation, in addition to his Fitchville charge, 
he became pastor of the Baptist Church in Lebanon, and has 
served these two churches up to the present time. Large num- 
bers have been added to both of the churches since he began to 
supply them, fifty to the Fitchville Church, and about as many to 
the church in Lebanon. Mr. Turner has been president of the 
Jonathan Trumbull Library Association from its organization to 
the present time. He has for eight years been chairman of the 



234 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

Lebanon board of education. He was one of the representatives 
from the town of Lebanon in our State Legislature in 1895, ^^^ 
was chairman of the committee on education in that body. He 
was married March 24, 1873, to Mary Emily, daughter of 
Theophilus and Mary L. Avery, of Ledyard. Tliis wife died May 
27, 1874; and on Aug. 15, 1875, he was married to Mary A., 
daughter of Simeon and Lucy A. Stoddard, of Ledyard. 

'[R. E. T.] 

Samuel Whipple. The marriage of Samuel Whipple, Jr., 
of Providence, to Elizabeth Eddy, of Swansey, Mass., is recorded at 
Providence, Feb. 26, 1690. The births of seven children are also 
recorded there. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1718, leaving nine 
children. He appears in Groton as early as 1711 where he owned 
large tracts of land at Poquetanuck. Li his will, dated April 18, 
1728, he speaks of his wife, Deborah, who' is toi be provided for 
by his son, Daniel. To Daniel he gives all his land on the west 
side of the saw-mill brook, his saw-mill and iron works on said 
brook and his dwelling house and barn ; he also' mentions sons, 
Samuel, Zachariah, Zepheniah, and daughters, Alice Whipple 
and Hope Caprin. His inventory amounted to £4,796, and in- 
cluded 780 acres of land. He, with other members of his family, 
was buried on his own farm, and their headstones are still in a 
fair state of preservation. A portion of his land is still in the 
possession of his descendants. [M. E. G.] 

Samuel S. Whipple, the grandson of Mr. Henry Watrous, 
enlisted from Ledyard in Company C, First Connecticut Cavalry, 
Nov. 25, 1861, and was given the position of farrier, and. acted in 
that capacity till sometime in 1863. During the fall of 1863 he 
had a talk with the lieutenant commanding his company, to 
whom, in the course of conversation, he said, "Many of the boys 
who enlisted first are being promoted, and I do not want to re- 
main at the bottom of the heap. My people at home have not 
the disposition, as you know, tO' assist me, and I can only be 
helped by some one like you who^ knows me." The officer re- 
plied, "I will take the first opportunity that ofifers itself, to aid 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 235 

you." A few days later there came a call from another company 
for a sergeant. Tears of thankfulness came to Whipple's eyes 
as he was informed that he had been recommended for the posi- 
tion. The transfer to Company G was made, and eventually he 
became regimental color bearer, and it was while gallantly carry- 
ing the flag during the battle at Ashland, June i, 1864, that a 
rebel bullet passed completely through his body. Turning to a 
comrade by his side, he had strength to- say, "I'm shot; take my 
horse and the colors." He fell from his horse, but ere his body 
touched the ground, his soul had winged its flight to Him who 
gave it. His comrades endeavored to secure his body, but that 
was impossible, and he was buried by the Confederates. 

[W. T. C] 

Asa Whitney, son of Shubael Whitney, was born about 1800. 
The family lived in the north-east part of the town, near Lantern 
Hill. The father was a farmer and carpenter. The son learned 
the trade of a cabinet-maker ; and when a young man carried on 
the business for a time at Jewett City. About 1830-40, he was 
very prosperous as a grocery merchant in New York City, his 
family residing meantime at New Rochelle. During this period 
he used to spend portions of almost every year at the home of his 
youth in Ledyard. At length Mr. Whitney, Sen., sold the home- 
stead, and with his wife and daughters went to live with his son 
at New Rochelle. From this place Mr. W. and his family moved 
to Sing Sing, N. Y., and at a subsequent date tO' a place near 
Washington, D. C, where he was last heard from about 1875. 
He had two wives; the first, a Monroe; the second, a Pellette. 
They had no children. While he was carrying on business in 
New York, Mr. Whitney acquired considerable celebrity by call- 
ing the attention of Congress to the idea of a railroad across the 
Continent, a thing which at that time seemed toi many visionary 
and impracticable. He early foresaw the great possibilities of 
America. 

Jemima Wilkinson. Sometime between 1770 and 1790, 
while the farm now owned by Amos Hurlbnt was in possession 
of the second James Smith, it was the home of Jemima Wilkinson. 



236 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

This eccentric woman in early life resided in Waterford, Conn. 
At one time her relatives supposed that she was dead, and prepa- 
rations were made for the funeral. When the coffin was opened 
to allow the sorrowing friends to take a last look at the remains. 
Jemima startled the congregation by sitting up, and remarking 
that she would do the preaching herself that day. 

She claimed to have passed through the gates of death, but 
that she had been sent back to earth, to be the second Redeemer, 
and that from her resurrection was to date the regeneration of 
the world. 

She preached for some time in North Groton (Ledyard), at- 
tracting large congregations, and making some converts. But, 
finding the "Land of Steady Habits" rather sterile soil for the 
propagation of her peculiar doctrines, she removed with her fol- 
lowers to Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Here some accessions 
were made to the Jemimakins, as they were called, but believing 
that they coiild prosper still better in New York State, the whole 
colony removed thither. Tradition says that Jemima was car- 
ried through the v/oods, in a gorgeous chariot, drawn by her 
proselytes. 

They settled in Yates County, New York, where they estab- 
lished the "City of the New Jerusalem," and presently their num- 
l:»ers so increased that they required a postoffice. 

At a meeting called to choose a name for the new postoffice, 
it became evident that the regeneration of the Jemimakins was 
not so complete as to entirely eliminate a spirit of jealousy be- 
tween the first of the faith, v/ho were called Yankees, because 
they came from Connecticut, and the later proselytes who came 
from f'ennsylvania. Every suggestion of one faction was 
laughed to scorn by the other. At length some peace-loving 
brother proposed a compromise. He suggested that the name 
be divided between the two parties, with Penn for the Penna- 
mites, and Yan for the "Vankees. 

Although the meeting adjourned without formerly ratifying 
the suggestion, it was adopted the next day by general consent, 
and to this dav Pcnn-Yan remains the name of the city. 

[F. R. H.] 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 2^] 

Hon. Henry Warren Williams, LL.D., oldest son of 
Warren and Elisabeth Stanton (Gallup) Williams, was born in 
North Groton, Jan. 20. 1816. He was one of ten children — 
four sons and six daughters. He fitted for college at Bacon 
Academy, Colchester, and Plainfield Academy. He was grad- 
uated at Amherst College in 1837. Among the honors won by 
him in college was that of class orator, being chosen by his class- 
mates. He received the degree of M. A. from his alma mater in 
1850, and that of LL.D. in i860. He spent his first year after 
graduation teaching an academic school in Southwick, Mass. 
Removing to Pittsburgh, Pa., he studied law in the office of 
Judge Lowrie, and was at the same time engaged in teaching. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and continued in legal prac- 
tice till 185 1, when he was elected associate justice of the Dis- 
trict Court for ten years, and re-elected in 1861. He was ten- 
dered the office of judge of the United States Circuit Court for 
the Third Judicial District, comprising Pennsylvania, New Jersey 
and Delaware, by President Grant, through United States Sena- 
tor John Scott, but declined it. In August, 1868, Gov. Geary 
appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court bench of 
Pennsylvania, and he took his seat, Oct. 26, 1868. The follow- 
ing year he was elected for a full term of fifteen years, and took 
his seat on the first Monday of December, 1869. He joined the 
Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, on profession of his 
faith, in March, 1840, was chosen elder of the church in 1858, and 
held the office for sixteen years. He was a member of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the New School Presbyterian Church in 1859, 
1865, 1866 and 1867. He was elected a corporate member of 
the A. B. C. F. M. in 1869. He took an active part in securing 
a re-union of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church, Old 
School and New School, in 1870. He was married May 20, 1846, 
to Lucy J. Stone, of Petersburgh, N. Y. They had six children — 
three sons and three daughters. 

Judge Williams died Feb. 19, 1877. Mrs. Williams and five 
children survived him. 

At a meeting of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a few 
days after his death, Judge Agnew said the following among 



238 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

other things of his late associate, Chief Justice WilHams : "His 
mind was pecuharly receptive and retentive of facts, and his 
memory one of the most tenacious. He seemed never to forget 
a case he had once heard. * * * He seized the leading 
points of a case quickly and with a strong grasp. His oral 
arguments and his charges were always clear, pointed, discrim- 
inating and forcible. * * '■' Our brother Williams was a man 
of great probity and firmness of character, of conscientious con- 
victions and strict notions of duty. * * * jj-^ parity and sin^ 
gleness his mind was especially conspicuous, swerving neither to 
the right nor tO' the left, so far as he knew himself. This was 
eminently so in the performance of his judicial duties. * * "'' 
His was a genial and kindly nature, filled with wit and good 
humor, poured out often in a sonorous voice, and with a liberality 
which made his intercourse enjoyable." 

Hon. Elias Hewitt Williams, son of Erastus and Nancy 
(Hewitt) Williams, was born in North Groton (now Ledyard), 
July 23, 18 19. He was graduated at Yale College in 1840. The 
first year after he left college he spent in New Hampshire, acting 
as principal of Goshen Academy, in Sullivan County, in that 
State. The next year he went South, and became tutor in a 
private school near Columbia, S. C. This school was largely 
devoted to the fitting of boys for Yale College. His duties not 
occupying all of his time, he commenced the study of law, and 
continued it for five successive years. The sickness and death 
of his father called him home in 1846. Soon after his father's 
death he went to Iowa, and settled at Garnavillo. Upon the 
breaking out of the Mexican War he enlisted, and was chosen 
sergeant in a regiment of Dragoons, stationed at Fort Atkinson, 
Iowa, the officers and men who had previously been there being 
ordered to Mexico. At the end of the war he returned to Gar- 
navillo, commenced the practice of law, and also opened up a 
farm near by. In 185 1, under the new code system of county 
government, he was elected the first county judge of Clayton 
county. He held the office two terms ; and accomplished a work 
which called forth much praise from men every way qualified to 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



239 



judge. About this time "he sold his Garnavillo farm, and pur- 
chased of the United States Government a tract of 2,200 acres of 
land in Grand Meadow, and employed his brother-in-law, Will- 
iam Larrabee, to superintend the opening- of a farm on his new 
purchase. The crops of wheat raised the first two years on the 

part brought under culti- 
vation, being about 320 
acres, paid the cost of rais- 
ing, all the improvements 
made, and the price paid 
for the whole tract of land," 
In 1858 he was elected 
judge of the Tenth Judicial 
District of Iowa; and re- 
elected in 1862. His work 
in this office was highly 
commended by those who 
were familiar with it and 
capable ol appreciating its 
merits. 'Tn 1870 he was 
appointed by Gov. Samuel 
Merrill to fill a vacancy on 
the bench of the Supreme 
Court of the State, and 
served only till his successor, elected at the next folloiwing elec- 
tion, had qualified. The published opinions written by him are 
models of clearness and brevity." He next turned his attention 
to the construction of railways in different parts of Iowa and 
adjacent States. So^me of the enterprises in which he engaged 
were very successful ; but one was quite the reverse. "Financial 
disaster overtook the eastern capitalists who had undertaken to 
supply the necessary funds, and the enterprise was thrown into 
an embarrassment from which it never recovered." Judge Will- 
iams kept up his habits of reading and study through life. "He 
had a retentive memory and his knowledge was extensive and 
minute. He was untiring in his efforts to benefit his friends, his 




Hon. Elias Hewitt Williams. 



240 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

neighbors, and the county, state and nation in which he lived. 
To the yO'Ung he was an especial friend, and in conferring bene- 
fits upon them would present them with such delicacy as to make 
himself appear the recipient of the favors." In the recorded 
action of the Clayton Countv bar, taken soon after his death, are 
the following, among other appreciative words : "Resolved, that 
in the death of Judge Williams, we feel that Iowa has lost one of 
its brightest mtellects, a mind of high culture, an able jurist, a 
man of strict integrity and of kindly heart." Judge Williams 
was married, in 1849, to Hannah, daughter of Capt. Adam Larra- 
bee, of Ledyard, Conn. They had two sons and two daughters. 
He died at his home in Grand Meadow, Iowa, Aug. 20, 1891, 
aged 72. Mrs. Williams and the four children survived him. 
[See Iowa Historical Record for January, 1892.] 

William Henry Williams, son ol Seth and Lucy Ann 
(Noyes) Williams, was born in Ledyard, Oct. 22, 1838. He at- 
tended the district school and worked on his father's farm in his 
boyhood. He fitted for college in Providence, R. I., and received 
his collegiate education in Brown University, being a member of 
the class of 1865. He studied law in the Columbia Law School, 
New York, and was graduated in 1868. He engaged in the 
practice of law in New York City. 

He was married Sept. 3, 1895, to Susanna H. Hunter, of 
Hagarstown, Md. Mr. Williams died March 11, 1901. 

Orkin Merwin Williams, son of Seth and Lucy Ann 
(Noyes) Williams, was born in Ledyard, Nov. 17, 1845. His 
youth was divided between attendance upon the district school 
and labor upon the farm on which he was born. He fitted for 
college at Philips Academy, Andover, Mass., and was graduated 
from Yale in 1869. He studied law with Judge Thomas Wilson, 
of Winona, Minn., and being admitted to the bar, served as city 
attorney in that place for several years. He died in 1876, at the 
age of 31 years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 24I 

Col. Samuel W. Wood was born in New London, Conn., 
Feb. 13, 1802. He was a direct descendant of John Wood, a 
native of Warwick, England, who died Dec. 20, 1738, aged 90. 
Tvlary Wood, widow of John, died May 3, 1744, aged yj. 

Col. S. W. Wood was son of Capt. Samuel Wood, who died 
Aug. 13, 1812, aged 48. Diadaima, widow of Capt. S. Wood, 
died June 13, 1829, aged 57. 

When about twelve years of age the subject of this sketch lived 
in the family of Rev. Timothy Tuttle ; and from their first ac- 
quaintance with each other a warm friendship ever existed be- 
tween the Tuttle family and the Wood family. 

Col. Wood's principal business in life was that of a farmer. 
As he ripened into manhood and advanced in years he developed 
a good deal of talent for public business ; and a large amount of 
such business was entrusted to his hands. When quite a young 
man he was colonel of the regiment to which he belonged. At 
one time he held the office of judge of probate. He settled a 
large number of estates. He often acted for retired soldiers in 
procuring their pensions. He was for many years superintendent 
of the Congregational Sunday-school. While holding the office 
he secured the attendance of the whole congregation, and of some 
also who were not members of the congregation, so that at one 
time it was jocosely, but in a sense truthfully said, that the Sun- 
day-school included eleven tenths of the congregation. In the 
matter ol attendance it was the banner school of the State. 

In every official position which he was called to fill, Col. Wood 
performed his work in a very orderly and systematic manner; 
and in this way usually won the approbation and esteem of all 
interested. The natural workings of his mind seemed to be of 
such a character that he was seldom willing to accept conclusions 
that rested upon anything short of positive demonstration. It 
was probably this peculiar quality of his mind which prevented 
him from attaining to satisfying convictions in the things of re- 
ligion sufficient to warrant his making a public profession of his 
faith. He could not demonstrate moral and religious truths as 

16 



242 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

he could mathematical propositions. And because he could not 
demonstrate them he was reluctant to afifirm that he believed 
them, and so by profession number himself openly with church 
members. Such at least was the view which his pastor, the Rev. 
Mr. Tuttle, was wont to entertain of him. 

Col. Wood married Miss Julia Ann Witter, of Preston. 
Three daughters were the fruits of this marriage. He died Oct. 
29, 1863, aged 61. Mrs. Wood died Feb. 19, 1882, aged 78. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
History of the Bill Library. 

In the month of January, 1867, the following letters were re- 
ceived from Hon. Henry Bill : — 

"Norwich, Conn., Jan'y 12th, 1867. 
"My Dear Sir :— 

"Having a desire to leave a permanent testimonial of my great 
regard for my native town, I propose to give the sum of One 
Thousand Dollars ($1,000) to trustees, the income from the above 
sum to be paid annually for books, for the use of all the inhabi- 
tants of the town. I have no definite plan, and would like the 
advice of yourself. Judge E. Spicer, B. F. Lewis, N. B. Geer, 
Isaac Avery, Maj. J. L. Gallup, John Brewster, Israel AUyn, 
James A. Billings, Henry Larrabee, Frank Brewster and Palmer 
Allyn. 

"I would like to have you and the above-named gentlemen 
act as trustees. I hold myself responsible for the interest of the 
above sum from the ist day of January, 1867, until the said sum 
of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.) is paid. 

"Respy. Yours, 

"Henry Bill. 
"To 

"Rev. N. B. Cook, 
"Led yard, 

"Conn." 

"Norwich, Conn., Jan'y 15th, 1867. 
"My Dear Sir: — 

"As you are the first named, and consequently chairman of 
the board of trustees for establishing a free library in Ledyard. 
you will please notify the members of said trust to meet together 



244 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

at such time and place as you may think best, and I will 
meet the gentlemen and explain my plan, etc., to them, and pay 
over in cash for the establishing of said library. Please let me 
know the time and place. I have added, as you will see, to the 
list of names first sent to you, and herewith you will find a com- 
plete list. 



"Respy. Yours, 

"Henry Bill. 



"Rev. N. B. Cook, 

"Ledyard, Conn."' 



Mr. Bill's letter of January 15th named the following addi- 
tional trustees, viz. : Sanford B. Stoddard, Ralph Hurlbutt, 
Leonard C. Smith, Rufus M. Gallup, N. Sands Gallup and 
George Fanning. 

It seems tO' have been Mr. Bill's intention in naming the ad- 
ditional trustees, to have all parts of the town represented, and in 
this manner create an increased interest in the library. Upon the 
receipt of the foregoing letters, a meeting of the gentlemen 
named therein was called tO' consider the matter, and the follow- 
ing resolutions were presented by Rev. N. B. Cook and signed 
by the trustees present. 

"Whereas, Our friend and former townsman, the Hon. Henry 
Bill, of Norwich, has, in a letter communicated to the under- 
signed, made known his determination to give to^ the town of 
Ledyard the generous sum of One Thousand Dollars, the income 
thereof, to be used and applied for the purpose of establishing a 
town library for all the inhabitants of said town, and has re- 
quested us to take in trust the charge and management of the 
same ; therefore, 

"Resolved, That the undersigned, being the trustees assem- 
bled at the vestry of the Congregational Church in said town, 
and being sensible of the duties imposed by a trust of such im- 
portance and responsibility, do hereby accept tiie office of trustees 
of the same, and promise our best endeavors in its behalf. 

"Resolved, That we hereby express to Mr. Bill our grateful 
appreciation for his noble gift. 



HISTORY OF THE BILL LIBRARY. 245 

"Resolved, That we express, in behalf of Mr. Bill, our earnest 
prayer, that in the gracious providence of God, his life may be 
long- spared to witness the success of his benevolent contribution 
to the happiness of his beloved native town. 

"Resolved, That this library be called the 'Bill Library.' 

"Signed by the Trustees." 

At the session of the Legislature, held in 1867, the "Bill 
Library Association" was incorporated, and the document sealed 
and signed on the eighth day of June, 1867, by 

L. E. Pease, 

Secretary of State. 

At a meeting of the Trustees, held June 15th, 1867, Rev. N. B. 
Cook was elected President of the Association, and Edmund 
Spicer, Esq., Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian. 

At the first regular meeting held Nov. 9th, 1867, Rev. N. B. 
Cook resigned as President, and Christopher Newton, Esq., was 
elected to succeed him. Mr. Newton died in 1875, and in 1876, 
]\Ir. Franklin Brewster was elected, who held the office till his 
decease in 1885. Hon. John Brewster succeeded him, and re- 
signed the position in 1894. He was followed by Lt. William 
T. Cook, who, on account of ill health, resigned in 1897. George 
Fanning, Esq., was then elected President, and has continued to 
hold the office since that time. 

In 1885, William T. Cook, George Fanning and Isaac G. Geer 
were elected Vice-Presidents, and were re-elected annually till 
1894, at which time George Fanning, Isaac G. Geer and Rev. 
A. E. Kinmouth were chosen. At the annual meeting of 1897, 
William T. Cook, Isaac G. Geer and Rev. A. E. Kinmouth were 
chosen Vice-Presidents. Edmund Spicer, Esq., who^ was elected 
the first Secretary, Treasurer and Librarian, retained these of- 
fices until 1885, at which date William T. Cook was chosen 
Secretary, Mr. Spicer retaining the treasurership and Librarian 
until he died in 1890. His son, John S. Spicer, was then chosen 
Treasurer and Librarian, and is still retained as Treasurer. In 
1894, Miss Hattie J. Gray was elected Librarian, and held the 



246 HISTORY OT THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

position till her marriage in May, 1899, when Miss Marian I. 
Gray was chosen her successor. 

\A/illiam T. Cook remained as Secretary from 1885 tO' 1894. 
George Fanning was then chosen Secretary, holding the office 
till 1897, at which time Russell Gallup was elected. 

The first annual meeting, followed by the "Library Dinner," 
was held at the house of Mr. George H. O'Brien. About this 
time, Hon. Henry Bill donated to the Congregational Society, his 
old homestead, to be used as a parsonage, and thereafter the an- 
nual meetings and dinner took place at the "Bill Parsonage." 

Here the trustees and invited guests, numbering half a hun- 
dred or more, gathered each year, the trustees first transacting 
in the pastor's study the business necessary, then adjourning to 
the large hall — a hall originally built in the house for the Masonic 
Lodge established in North Groton^ — up stairs, to partake of the 
banquet so faithfully served by the ladies interested in the happi- 
ness of the occasion. Haying finished the repast, then came the 
"Feast of reason and flow of so'ul." At the close of these exer- 
cises, the company arose and all present joined in singing 
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow," and this manner of 
closing the meetings with the do^xology has continued to this 
date. It is a fortunate circumstance that the founder of the 
library was enabled each year to attend these meetings as long as 
he lived. Those who attended our gatherings in the earlier years 
of our institution will recall with much pleasure, the presence of 
Edward Bill, Esq., of New York City, an honorary member, who 
met with us every year till his decease. He always produced an 
essay, sometimes in poetry, sometimes in prose, tO' which his 
hearers ever listened with interest. Among our guests, at dif- 
ferent occasions, were John L. Dennison, Esq., Richard A. 
Wheeler, Esq., Rev. Dr. Pratt, S. T. Holbrook, Esq., Chas. W, 
Carter, Esq., Hon. PL H. Starkweather, John W. Stedman, Esq., 
Rev. James A. Gallup, Rev. Robert Allyn, Rev. Charles Cutting, 
Plon. John T. Wait, Jeremiah Halsey, Esq., Gov. Wm. A. 
Bucking-ham and Rev. John Avery, all of whorn delivered essays 



HISTORY OF THE BILL LIBRARY. 24/ 

or addresses, befitting the occasion, as indeed did many others of 
the guests. The number of oiir invited guests grew larger and 
larger as time went on, until we lacked for room at the parsonage, 
and it was finally suggested that our annual meetings be held at 
the Congregational Church, and that the exercises be open to the 
public. So in August, 1893, our first regular meeting was held 
in the church at Ledyard Centre, and the following was the order 
of exercises given at that time : 

Organ voluntary by Miss Hattie E. Fanning, followed with 
prayer by Rev. John Avery — then an anthem — then the oration 
by Rev. A. E. Kinmouth — a solo by Miss Chrissie Whipple — a 
Poem by Mrs. Ida Whipple Benham — Ten-minute speeches by 
Mr. Warren Lee Goss, Richard A. Wheeler, Esq. — Poem written 
by Mrs. R. Maria Allyn — Short addresses by Rev. E. M. Will- 
iams, of Groton, Rev. John Avery, and remarks by others. 

Tables wxre placed on the lawn east of the church edifice 
where dinner was served, after the literary entertainment. Be- 
tween four and five hundred people were in attendance. 

The succeeding year's orations have been delivered as follows : 

In 1894, Rev. James A. Gallup. 

In 1895, Hon. Charles A. Russell. 

In 1896, Rev. Mr. Barrows, pastor of the Road Church in 
Stoning! on. 

In 1897, Rev. Mr. Pitner, of Norwich. 

In 1898, Rev. Lewellyn Pratt, pastor of Broadway Church, 
Norwich. 

In 1899, Rev. W. C. Stiles, of Stonington. 

The same year, Rev. John Avery read an article on "The 
Pequot Indians." On one occasion, Rev. Frederic Denison de- 
livered an original poem, and at another time Rev. John Avery 
gave us an "Anniversary Poem." 

When the library was first organized, Hon. Henry Bill, be- 
sides giving $1,000, the income from which to be spent in furnish- 
ing books, also donated at different times, more than twO' thou- 
sand volumes, making the value of his gift over three thousand 



248 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

dollars. Frederic Bill, Ledyard Bill and Charles Bill, as well as 
others, have contributed many volumes. 

In the year 1897, Mr. Charles Bill (deceased), who with all 
the Bill brothers, had been made honorary members of the Asso- 
ciation, left by his will $500, one hundred of the sum to be spent 
each year for books for the library, in the meanwhile allowing the 
original fund of $1,000 to accumulate and which now amounts to 
over $3,000 of itself. 

In 1898, Messrs. Gurdon and Frederic Bill donated to the As- 
sociation for its own use pieces of crockery consisting of a dinner 
set, complete, appropriately marked, to be used whenever occa- 
sion required. 

In 1899, Mr. Gurdon Bill gave to the Association $500, the 
interest on which was to be applied towards defraying the ex- 
penses incurred at the dinner served at our annual meetings. 

As a New Year's gift, the Association received from Miss 
Eliza Geer, to be used at our banquets, a set of silverware con- 
sisting in all ol 480 pieces. 

When the library was first created, book-cases were made 
and placed in the gallery of the Congregational Church. Here 
the books were kept for nearly twenty-six years, but in later years, 
the Bill brothers, seeing the necessity of a separate and permanent 
home for the growing library, secured a location on the "Com- 
mon" near the church at the centre, and contributed the sum of 
three thousand dollars for the construction of a suitable edi- 
fice, and under the supervision of Mr. Frederic Bill, there was 
erected, for library purposes, an appropriate building, that will 
remain a monument to the generosity of the family for many 
years to come. This building was suitably dedicated on the day 
of our annual meeting in 1893. It contains a hall, room for the 
meeting of the trustees, and a spacions apartment where the 
library is located. The walls are adorned with pictures of the 
trustees, many of the citizens of the town, also many natives of 
the town of Ledyard, who have gone out from among these 
rocks and hills and become eminent in other states. 



HISTORY OF THE BILL LIBRARY. 



249 



Of the trustees appointed orig-inally, two have removed from 
town, four yet reside liere, and thirteen have died, also the Rev. 
Charles Cutting-, a more recent appointee. 



Trustees now of record are : 
N. M. Gallup, 
J. B. Beckwith, 
Wm. I. Allyn, 
John S. Spicer, 
N. Sands Gallup, 
Joseph A. Gallup, 
Jacob Gallup, 
Russell Gallup, 
Wm. T. Cook, 
John M. Gray, 



Rev. A. E. Kinmouth, 
Erasmus Avery, 
Isaac G. Geer, 
John Brewster, 
George Fanning, 
Palmer Allyn, 
Isaac W. Geer, 
Henry Hurlbutt, 
Charles A. Satterlee. 



The honorary trustees have been 



=^ Henry Bill, 
Benj. F. Lewis, 
^Edward Bill, 
Gurdon Bill, 
Frederic Bill, 
Ledyard Bill, 



^Charles Bill, 
Henry Larrabee, 
I. Edwin Avery, 
* Charles Cutting, 
Rev. John Avery, 
Frederic A. Bill. 



The oiiEcers to-day are: — 

President, George Fanning; Vice-Presidents, Wm. T. Cook, 
Isaac G. Geer, Rev. A. E. Kinmouth ; Secretary, Russell Gallup ; 
Treasurer, Jobn S. Spicer; Librarian, Miss Marian I. Gray. 

During the past year 922 books have been drawn, and 391 
magazines, and there have been 125 persons taking books regu- 
larly. The books are absolutely free. To draw one, it is only 
necessary to be a resident of the town. 

There are now in the library 3,099 volumes, and the fund, the 
income from which additional books can be supplied, is $3,134.27. 

Thus, by the beneficence of Hon. Henry Bill, and later years 



•^Deceased, 



250 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

by the assistance ol the Bill brothers — all of whom were natives 
O'f our town — we are provided with a fine library and substantial 
building for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the town. 

As we meet each year to celebrate the anniversary of the 
foundation of the library, our hearts gO' out in grateful thanks 
to the donors. 

[W. T. C] 



CHAPTER XIV. 
The Pequot Indians. 

Two hundred and sixty-five years ago all the south-eastern 
portion of New London County was occupied by a powerful 
tribe of Aborigines known as the Pequot Indians. Their do- 
minions extended from the Niantic river on the west to the 
Pawcatuck river on the east, and from Long Island Sound on 
the south up a dozen or more miles into the interior; and in- 
cluded the territory now covered by the towns of New London, 
Waterford, Groton, Ledyard, Stonington and North Stoning- 
ton. The territory to the east of them was occupied by the 
Narragansetts ; that to the west by the Nehantics ; that to the 
north and north-west by the Mohegans. The Mohegans were 
originally Pequots, and had revolted and set up for themselves, 
under the leadership of Uncas, who subsequently acted a very 
important part as the friend of the early English settlers in their 
conflicts with the hostile Indian tribes. The Pequots were alto- 
gether the most powerful native tribe in Connecticut, and one 
of the most powerful in New England. Hence, as soon as they 
became unfriendly, they presented one of the most formidable 
obstacles to the peaceful settlement of the English in this por- 
tion of the country. They numbered altogether about four 
thousand souls. Sassacus, their chief, had twenty-six sachems 
under him, and some seven hundred warriors. 

In the year 1637, June 5, the strength of this tribe was 
broken in the memorable battle near the site of the present vil- 
lage of Mystic, in which seventy-seven English soldiers, under 
Capt. John Mason, accompanied by about sixty Indians under 
the famous Uncas as their leader, surprised, in the early morn- 
ing, the camp of the Pequots, and slew some four hundred or 
five hundred of their number. By this single blow their pres- 



252 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

tige and power as a warlike tribe was destroyed. Yet they 
have existed as a conquered and powerless people right here 
among us for more than two and a half centuries and a small 
remnant of them exists to-day. The home of my boyhood was 
within two miles of their reservation, which was in the north 
part of the present town of Ledyard. Through my entire life 
I have been acquainted with this people. I have known their 
children who are now upon the stage, their parents, their grand- 
parents, their great-grandparents, and their great-great-grand- 
parents. Hence, among the historic statements of this paper, I 
shall take the liberty to weave in a good many personal remi- 
niscences. 

In speaking of this Indian tribe it may be well perhaps to 
say, at the outset, that they have been classed by ethnologists 
with the great Algonquin race, which was found occupying all 
the south-eastern portion of North America at the time that 
the European nations began to take possession of it. 

According to a tradition, which our ancestors found preva- 
lent among them, the Pequots had not been living very long in 
this part of the country when the English people came to dwell 
among them. Some time, not long before 1600, they migrated 
hither from Eastern New York. Having broken off from the 
Mohegans there, they were long known as Mohegans here. 

The earlier intercourse of our ancestors with the Indian 
tribes of New England was of a friendly character. The In- 
dians invited the English people to settle among them, and 
opened the way for them to do so. A fact or two, illustrative 
of this point, may be properly mentioned in this place. Early 
in the history of the Plymouth colony, Mass., Massasoit, a 
prominent Indian chief, sought an interview with the colonists 
and entered into a friendly agreement with them. The terms of 
the agreement, consisting of half a dozen particulars, were 
specifically stated in writing. "This treaty of Peace," says a 
historian of Plymouth, "matle under the influence of upright 
intentions by both of the parties concerned, proved mutually 
advantageous, and continued without any serious disturbance 
for more than fifty years." And if all the men who were promi- 



THE PEOUOT INDIANS. 253 

nent actors in the early history of our Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut colonies had been like those who treated with Massa- 
soit, or like William Penn, of Pennsylvania, or Theophilus 
Eaton, of New Haven, it is possible, indeed very probable, that 
much bloodshed might have been prevented, and some of our 
most terrible wars with these savage tribes might never have 
been fought. After their defeat at Mystic the Pequots were 
scattered. Some sought refuge with neighboring tribes, that 
were not altogether hostile to them. Some wandered south- 
ward and found temporary or permanent homes as far away 
as North Carolina. Some lingered still here in the regions 
where they were born and where most of their lives had been 
spent, having attachments here which were hard to be severed. 
Sassacus, their sachem, who no longer wielded the influence 
among them that he previously had done, with a remnant of 
his recently powerful tribe, fled westward. They were pursued 
and overtaken by the English, and, in the furious battle of 
Fairfield swamp, their numbers were again largely reduced. 
Sassacus, at length, sought refuge among the Mohawks of 
Eastern New York, and among them he ended his career, a 
victim of the treachery of those in whom he had confided. The 
remnants of the tribe, which lingered about here in the regions 
which they had previously occupied, for a considerable time, 
were not allowed to organize and live together as a tribe, lest 
they might again assume hostile relations, and become an an- 
noyance to the English settlers. The way in which some of 
them were disposed of is described in the following extract from 
Hollister's History of Connecticut: "On the twenty-first of 
September, 1637, only about three months after the battle of 
Fairfield swamp, Uncas, the sachem of the Mohegans, Mian- 
tinomoh, the sachem of the Narragansetts, with representatives 
of the Pequots, met the magistrates of Connecticut at Hartford. 
About two hundred of the vanquished tribes were to be disposed 
of in some way. A treaty was then entered into between Con- 
necticut, the Mohegans, and the Narragansetts. By its terms 
there was to be perpetual peace between these two tribes and 
the English. If the subjects of either tribe did wrong, the in- 



254 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

jured party promised not to take summary justice into its own 
hands, but to appeal to the EngHsh. Then, with imposing cer- 
emonies, the magistrates divided the remnant of the Pequots 
among the chiefs of the other tribes. To Uncas, their favorite, 
they gave one hundred ; to Miantinomoh eighty ; to Ninigret, 
sachem of the eastern Nehantics, twenty. These poor crea- 
tures, thus given over to their enemies and subjected to the 
bitterest taunts, were to be called Pequots (powerful ones) no 
more, nor were ever to dwell in their old haunts or pay their 
wonted visits to the burial places of their dead, or meet on 
festal days to revive the traditions of their people around the 
embers of the council fire." (I. 71, 72.) Of course they were 
not at all satisfied with the arrangement ; and as the years went 
by it became more and more irksome to them. They could ill 
endure the treatment feceived from the chiefs in whose hands 
they had been placed. They were frequently at variance with 
them and as frequently appealing to the English people for re- 
dress of grievances. At length, in the year 1655, seventeen 
years after their defeat at Mystic, they were permitted again 
to settle on their old territory, and to maintain tribal existence 
in two separate bands, one located in Groton, the other in 
Stonington. Cassacinamon became the successor of Sassacus, 
as the head of the Groton band (which was the larger of the 
two), and Hermon Garret the head of the Stonington band. 
Their privileges were at first a good deal restricted, but were at 
length gradually enlarged, and more definitely defined, until 
after a while they assumed pretty nearly the form in which they 
exist to-day. The Groton Pequots in due time had a reserva- 
tion of two thousand acres set apart for them, in the north part 
of the town, to which the name of Mushantuxet was given. 
The Stonington Pequots had a reservation of two hundred and 
eighty acres given them on the east side of Lantern Hill. The 
reservation in Groton (now Ledyard) has from time to time 
been reduced in size, until at present it contains only about one- 
tentli as much as it did at first. The permanent fund, created by 
the sale of their land, amounts at the present time to about six 



THE PEOUOT INDIANS. 255 

thousand dollars. The annual income of it is expended for the 
benefit of the Indians. 

Though the Pequots were so signally and thoroughly de- 
feated in their first decisive conflict with the English, they did 
not remain in permanent antagonism to their conquerors. On 
the contrary, they entered, in the course of a few years, into 
alliances wath them and rendered important assistance in several 
difficult and trying emergencies, e. g., in the King Philip War, 
and later, in the French and Indian Wars ; and at length in the 
Revolution. In the great swamp fight of King Philip's War, 
which occurred in 1675, it has been stated that ''they performed 
prodigies of valor under the leadership of Gallup and Avery." 
(R. A. Wheeler.) When the French and Indian War broke out 
not a few of them enlisted in . the service of the English and 
Americans and fought against the French, and the Indian tribes 
that were assisting them. And in the Revolutionary War a con- 
siderable number of them fought in the ranks of the Colonists 
against our British oppressors, and several of them laid down 
their lives in the service. In the record of deaths that occurred 
in North Groton (now Ledyard), in the year 1776, I find nine 
Indian names, and it is stated upon the record that "These nine 
natives all died in the army this year." The same record for 1778 
contains the names of six Indians, who died in the army. From 
the time of their memorable defeats at Mystic and at Fairfield, 
the number of the Pequots had been constantly diminishing. 
Immediately after those defeats, in the year 1637, two hundred, 
as already remarked, were apportioned to neighboring chiefs. 
This of course did not by any means include all who were still 
living, as they had scattered in all directions, and taken up their 
abodes in a great many different places. Almost a hundred years 
later, in 1731, the tribe, according to one account, numbered one 
hundred and sixty-four persons, and the number of wigwams 
on the reservation was thirteen. Some eighteen or twenty in- 
dividuals were living in English families outside of the reserva- 
tion. The reservation at this date contained one thousand seven 
hundred and thirty-seven acres. During the next thirty years, 
if we may credit the reports that have come down to us, their 



256 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

numbers remained about the same that they had been. For in 
1762 there were twenty or thirty famiHes containing one hun- 
dred and sixty-seven persons. 

In the year 1766 a committee, appointed by the State to ex- 
amine and report on their condition, stated that they found one 
hundred and fifty-one Indians Hving on the lands at Mushantuxet, 
of whom about half were under sixteen years ol age. All were in 
poverty-stricken circumstances, and many were widows whose 
husbands had died or been killed in the colonial armies during 
the late wars in Canada. Their houses were chiefly within a 
mile square ; their land was by no means the best ; yet some of 
it was good and cultivated after the English fashion. There was 
a small school-house in which one Hugh Sweetingham was now 
teaching, having been hired^ for that purpose at twelve pounds a 
year by the Missionary Society in England. From the same 
source Rev. Mr. Johnson (pastor of the Congregational Church 
near by) received six shillings and eight-pence for every sermon 
which he preached to the Indians. A considerable number of the 
Pequots were willing to^ hear the Goispd and send their children 
to school, but were generally so poor that they could not provide 
them with decent clothing for that purpose. The committee ex- 
pended the twenty pounds which they had been authorized to 
draw from the colonial treasury in buying clothing and school- 
books for these children, and they stated in their report to the 
Assembly that further appropriations would be needed in the 
winter. The compensatioin ol the teacher, Mr. Sweetingham, 
was, in their opinion, insufficient, and so also was that of Mr, 
Johnson who preached tO' them, especially as he attended the 
Indians in sickness and at funerals. Accordingly twenty pounds 
additional were appropriated in Octoiber, 1766, for the benefit of 
the Pequot children, five pounds to Rev. Mr. Johnson, and four 
pounds to increase the salary of Mr. Sweetingham the teacher, 
(De Foirest 438.) In the year 1786 a large number of Pequots, 
with a few Mohegans, accompanied by Indians from other parts 
of Connecticut, from Rhode Island, and from Long Island, re- 
moved to Oneida County, N. Y. ; and, by invitation of the Six 
Nations, settling on some of their unoccupied lands, formed the 



THE PEOUOT INDIANS. 257 

nucleus of what has since been known as the Brothertown Tribe. 
A prominent actor in this movement was Samson Occum, a 
native of Mohegan, who had been educated and regularly in- 
ducted into the gospel ministry. As we come down into the 
present century we find the numbers of this ever-diminishing 
tribe very much smaller than they had been reported previously. 
In 1820, e. g., only fifty are reported as belonging to them. In 
1832, the number has fallen to about forty. In 1848, their over- 
seer,* Col William Morgan, gave their numbers as twenty-eight, 
of whom twenty lived in Ledyard and the remaining eight in 
other places. At the present time there are eighteen persons. 
In my boyhood the wigwams ol earlier years had all disap- 
peared. There were, I think, about half-a-dozen houses, rather 
small, but fairly comfortable, standing in what we then and ever 
since have called "Indian Town." In these houses were living 
some twenty or thirty persons. Some of them were full-blooded 
Pequots. A large portion, however, had more or less white or 
negro blood in them. And some had scarcely any Indian blood 
whatever. Evidently they were not very particular as to the 
race with which they commingled and amalgamated. One pure- 
blooded Indian man, I remember, who had a pure-blooded white 
wife. And one man, who was about half Indian and half white, 
had at one time a white woman (for, I believe, he was never 
married), after that a full-blooded squaw, and finally, a full- 
blooded negress. Marriage, in the proper sense of the word, 
was not very strictly observed among them, neither was it en- 
tirely ignored. As a general thing one man and one woman 
would, by mutual consent, take eaich other for better or for worse. 
And they would live together as long as they conveniently could ; 
then they would quarrel and separate. After a while they would 
come together again ; or each would look out a mate for himself 
or herself elsewhere. Some, however, who wished to be some- 
what like white folks, would be married in accordance with the 
laws of the Commonwealth ; and frequently would keep their 
marriage vows as sacredly as any of their white neighbors. 



•Previous overseers were Henry Hallett and Gurdon Bill. 
17 



258 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

One of the leaders in this remnant of the Pequots at "Indian 
Town," was Mark Daniels. He lived at the northerly end of the 
reservation near Capt. Henry Hallett's farm. He occupied the 
most pretentious of the dwellings and was very friendly with 
the English residents. He was a convert to the Christian church 
and it was at his house that "meetings" of local preachers and 
exhorters were held. He frequently led such meetings himself 
and was a man quite generally respected. He was of mixed 
blood, though recognized as a meimiber of the tribe, and as prev- 
iously stated, pure-blooded members were few. 'An amusing 
anecdote relating to this man occurred years ago. A certain 
medical student and practitioner embarked in the patent medi- 
cine business, and among his printed recommendations was one 
from "Rev. Mark Daniels." The people who knew the parties 
smiled rather broadly, but its value as an indorsement increased 
in proportioin to the distance from the particular locality. Poor 
Mark was innocent, doubtless, but the medicine-man flourished 
and became both famous and wealthy and from this slender 
foundation, in part. 

The decline of the tribe, which has already proceeded so far 
as to threaten its entire extinction at no distant day, is parallel 
with what has occurred to many other tribes in different parts 
of the country. Even in places where there has been no serious 
collision between them and the whites, as was the case at New 
Haven and Philadelphia, the same thing has happened. This 
decline has resulted from various causes. Prominent among 
them has been the fact that they were a conquered people, and 
all the ends for which they had been accustomed toi live were 
utterly defeated. More than this, "civilization" brought among 
them temptations to which they easily gave place, and this, in 
many cases, was the utter ruin of them. The use of intoxicating 
liquors soon became a besetting sin with them. And further, 
the diseases of dissolute white people, when introduced among 
them, were often terribly destructive. They did not have the 
medical skill at hand to resist them and hence became easy 
victims. 



THE PEOUOT INDIANS. 25g 

But a few words aboiit the employments of these people, after 
they were conquered by the English. Of course they hunted 
and fished as they had done. But I do not remember many of 
them who were specially fond of these pursuits. They tilled the 
soil to a limited extent, but in all the cases that I can recall it 
was very limited ; the work was very imperfectly done and with 
the most indififerent results. An Indian's corn-field was to me a 
thing unknown ; and an Indian's garden was anything but a 
model for others to go- by. But, while they did not like very 
much to work for the'mselves, they were often excellent help 
when employed to work for others. Some of them I recall as 
good farm-hands, especially when employed for a few days at a 
time. If engaged for a month or for several months the quality 
of their services would often deteriorate before the close of the 
time, and, likely as not, they would break their engagement by 
leaving in the very midst of some piece of work to which they 
did not happen to take a liking, thus causing their employers 
great inconvenience, perhaps considerable pecuniary loss. The 
women, too, were often excellent servants in the household, and 
were more or less frequently employed by families living in the 
neighborhood. Occasionally an Indian boy or girl was brought 
up in a white family, and sometimes with good results tO' all con- 
cerned. In such cases the Indian children often took the names 
of the families with which they lived. And this accounts, in part 
at least, for the fact that so many have borne the names of white 
people, their Indian names having been practically forgotten. 
One employment and a source of revenue to- which many of them 
were accustomed was basket-making. In this employment they 
often developed a good deal of skill, and in some instances a fair 
degree of industry. They made baskets of all shapes and sizes, 
from tiny ornamental ones holding only a pint or even less up to 
strong oaken baskets for farm use, holding one or two- bushels 
apiece. I remember, when I was quite a small boy, one Ann 
Wampy used to make an annual trip in the early spring past my 
home up through Preston City, Griswold and Jewett City, selling 
the baskets she had made during the previous winter. When 
she started from her home she carried upon her shoulders a 



26o HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

bundle of baskets so large as almost to hide her from view. In 
the bundle would be baskets varying in size from a half-pint up 
to five or six quarts, some made of very fine splints, some of 
coarse, and many skilfully ornamented in various colors. Her 
baskets were so good that she would find customers at almost 
every house. And after traveling a dozen or twenty miles and 
spending two or three days in doing it her load would all be gone. 
Then she would start on her homeward journey, and, sad to 
relate, before she had reached her home a large part of what 
she had received for her baskets would have been expended for 
strong drink. Akin to basket-making v^^as the making of wooden 
trays, bowls, ladles and spoons which they carried about and 
sold from house to house as they could find buyers. Many of 
Jhe young men enlisted in the whaling business which was then 
carried on very vigorously froin the port of New London. Sev- 
eral, whom I knew, became boat-steerers and harpooners on 
whale ships, and as such their services were highly prized by 
their employers. Sometimes one of them would return from a 
long voyage with several hundred dollars in his pocket, and 
frequently, instead ol laying it away for future needs or investing 
it in a comfortable home, would spend it all in a few weeks in 
lavish generosity or gross dissipation. From the time that the 
Pequots were settled upon their reservation in 1655 on to 1740, 
a period of eighty-five years, they had leaders from their own 
number invested with a sort of governmental power over them. 
Each of these leaders had one or more assistants. And then, 
too, at length there was a white man, sometimes two white men, 
appointed in each of the two bands, to give advice and assistance 
to these native rulers. As the years went by, and those who had 
filled these official positions passed away, and others were called 
to take their places, the governmental power seemed gradually 
to slip away from the hands of the Indian leaders and slip into 
the hands of the white leaders, until, in the year 1740, Scadaub, 
the last of the Groton band, who held the office of governor or 
sachem, died. Since then the ruling power has been for the most 
part in the hands of a white overseer, who is appointed by the 
Superior Court. 



THE PEQUOT INDIANS. 261 

A few words in regard to the religion of the Pequots, or 
rather of the great Algonquin race to which they belonged ; for 
what was true of one tribe was true of another in this matter 
throughout all this part of North America, at the time that the 
European nations began to settle among them. Generally 
speaking they were a very superstitious people. But they were 
not idolaters. They believed in one Great and Good Spirit, who 
ruled over the world and who dealth with men according to their 
deserts, bestowing good upon the upright and inflicting evil 
upon the wicked. They believed also in a Spirit of Evil, or rather 
in a considerable number of such Spirits, standing closely con- 
nected with the various calamities which are wont to come upon 
the children of men. Practically, they interested themselves 
much more in the doings of these numerous Evil Spirits than 
in the doings of the one Great and Good Spirit. The former 
must be propitiated that the evils of which they were the authors 
might be averted ; but the latter was so good, so averse to evil 
of every sort that he would deal kindly with them whether they 
took special pains to please him or not. They believed in a 
future life, which would be a life of happiness to the good, of 
wretchedness to the bad ; though they conceived of happiness in 
the one case and wretchedness in the other as consisting in just 
about the same things that they enjoyed and suffered in the 
present life. An anecdote, which I have met with in my reading, 
will illustrate this point. A young Indian of the Ojibwa tribe, 
while sleeping one night in the open air, had a dream. He 
dreamed he saw a very beautiful female come down from the 
clouds and stand by his side. Calling him by name, she said, "I 
am come for you, step in my tracks." The young man did so, 
and presently felt himself ascending above the tops of the trees ; 
he mounted up, step by step, in the air and through the clouds. 
His guide at length passed through an orifice and he follow^ing 
her found himself standing on a beautiful plain. A path led to 
a splendid lodge. He followed her into it. This was her home 
and the only occupants of it were herself and her brother, who 
just then was absent. Upon his return the young visitor was 
united in marriage to the beautiful damsel and became exceed- 



262 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

ingly happy in this relationship. Every thing in his situation 
and surroundings was eminently congenial tO' him. There were 
flowers on the plains. There were bright streams. There were 
green valleys and pleasant trees. There were gay birds and 
beautiful animals, but they were not such as he had been accus- 
tomed to see. This was indeed but a dream, and from it the 
dreamer presently awoke ; but it was a dream which accorded 
very nearly with the general belief of the Aborigines in regard 
to the future life of those who are upright and good. 

When our ancestors came here it was very natural that they 
should present to the natives the Christian religion and recom- 
mend it as much superior to that which they possessed. Their 
efforts were often attended with a good deal of success. The 
labors of Elliot, the Mayhews, and others, who' preached the 
gospel to these natives and gathered them in schools where they 
were instructed in the rudiments of human learning, and into 
churches where the gospel was preached and the ordinances ad- 
ministered, these labors, with the happy results of them, form a 
bright page in our early New England history. But when, at 
length, alienations sprang up between the Whites and the In- 
dians, and especially after war had broken out and a number of 
battles had been fought, with the most disastrous results to the 
Indians, they became mOre or less averse to the religion which 
was offered by those who had brought such disasters upon them. 
As a rule those who embraced the Christian religion were not 
very stable. Too often was it true that their goodness was as 
the morning cloud and as the dew that goeth early away. There 
were, however, some very bright and beautiful exceptions tO' this 
remark, examples of piety which were exceptionally excellent. 
In the Great Awakening of 1740 and adjacent years the Indians 
as well as others were specially interested and considerable num- 
bers of them were gathered into the churches. (De Forest.) 

The history which we have thus outlined is indeed a sad 
history. Still we may, if I mistake not, recognize in it an over- 
ruling Providence, 

"From seeming evil still educing good, 
And better thence again, and better still, 
In infinite progression," 



THE PEQUOT INDIANS. 263 

In the events which we have reviewed, many of which it is 
exceedingly painful to contemplate, we see how He who doeth 
according to his will, in the army of heaven and among the in- 
habitants of the earth, causes the wrath of man tO' praise him and 
restrains the remainder thereof, illustrating most forcibly the 
truth of a declaration of the famous Indian chief, Tecumseh, of 
the Shawnee tribe, who, in the early part of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, contended long and earnestly for the permanent establish- 
ment of his people against the encroachments of the Whites, but 
was at last convinced of the folly of his efforts. Some of the 
words which he uttered, not long before his death, were: 

"All dreams of perpetuating savage life in opposition to civili- 
zation are futile. Civilization produces a dense population. It 
is not desirable that a savage race, which spreads itself thinly in 
squalid hunting bands, should possess a fertile country capable of 
supporting one hundred times as many people in the comfort 
and enlightment of civilization." 

ORDER FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PEQUOT 
RESERVATION, 1720-1. 

Whereas at town meeting holden in Groton february the 13 
Day 1 720- 1, there was a Committee chosen to perambulate with 
y6 proprietors y^ .... to y^ common or undivided Land 
in said Groton & also to set out to the Pequot Indians a sufili- 
cencie of Land for there use &c pursuent to said vote we whose 
names are here under written a Committee as aforesaid do set 
out to y^ Pequot Indians their Heirs and Successors all the west 
part of ye Land w^h is Scituate in Groton and Northward from 
Capt. John Morgans new dwelling house in said Groton & ad- 
joining on ye North of said Morgans and in part with Saml 
Packers Land and in West partly with said Morgans Land and 
so Running according to ye former surveigh to y^ Northwest 
corner bounds as well as all ye Land that Butts upon Capt. 
Alorgans and Saml Packers is set out according to ye ancient 
surveigh .... and from s<i Norwest Corner tree to run 
according to ye former surveigh on ye North Easterly to a tree 



264 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

standing near ye Cedar Swamp sometimes called a side line tree 
and from said tree Southwardly by said Swamp till it comes to 
ye Southwardstermost part of s<i Swamp and from thence South 
Eastwardst till it conies to aRockw^h stone Laid on't and a Chest- 
nut bush or stoddle standing by s<i Rock marked and also' two 
springs of water arising out of y^ Earth under s^ Rock and run- 
ning East and y^ other west said Rock being about ninety Rods 
Eastward of Samuel Packer Juni" his new dwelling house in said 
Groton said Land by Estimation being one Thousand acres y^ 
Pequot Indians shall have full Liberty of Farming & planting 
or Living upon said Land and of their Orchards. They bearing 
ye Damage yt shall or maybe due them by the English Creotures 
by meens of ye Insufficiency of their fence the summer feed of ye 
above said Land which said Indians dO' not see .... feed 
to belong to said Town of Groton and of their fields after Indian 
harvest and ye above said Indians are to have & shall have the 
use of their Orchards w^h stands on ye Eastward part of the Land 
whicli they had fomerly Liberty of planting of near Lanthorn hill 
till they or any of them see cause to sell said trees or said trees 
shall Dye and further we do agree and order yt there shall be Six 
hundred acres of Land part on ye hills Eastwardly from Pine 
Swamps and part on Walnut hill which when it is Layed out shall 
be for ye use of ye Pequot Indians to plant and Live on if they 
see cause and ye herbage thereof for ye use of ye Town of Groton 
as above said in Confirmation whereof we have hereunto set our 
hands and seals, this 20 Day of March in ye Seventh year of his 
Majestie's Reighn Anno Dommin 1 720-1. 

Signed Sealed in NEHEMIAH SMITH, (L. S.) 

^ Prence of JOSHUA BILL, (L. S.) 

SAME AVERY, NICHOLAS STREET, (L. S.) 

JOHN MORGAN, SAME LESTER, (L. S.) 

Committee. 

[From Book i, of Groton Records.] 



CHAPTER XV. 
The Norwich & Worcester Railroad. 

The Norwich & Worcester is one of the oldest railroads in 
the country. A few, however, are a little older. Among them 
are the Hartford & New Haven, and the Boston & Worcester. 
The building of this last named road, begun in 1831, and pushed 
through in the early thirties, hastened the building of the Nor- 
wich & Worcester; though the project was by no means a new 
one, a survey of the route having been made as early as 1824. 

On the eighth day of October, 1835, the ceremony of break- 
ing ground for the road waa observed in Norwich ; and it was 
one of the most demoinstrative affairs of its kind that the city 
has ever witnessed. A procession, formed and started on Frank- 
lin Square, completed its march on ground prepared for public 
services at Greeneville. Here a large platform had been erected, 
upon which the officials and the invited guests were seated. 

Of all the noticeable things in the procession the most no- 
ticeable perhaps was a large vehicle, drawn by six white horses, 
and loaded with ar'ticles manufactured on the line of the proposed 
road. 

Some idea of the magnitude of the demonstration may be 
obtained froui the following statement of an eye-witness : "The 
military marched eight abreast, and the citizens four abreast. 
When the military arrived at the platform in Greeneville, the rear 
of the procession had not left Franklin Square." 

At the stand in Greeneville, Hon. Charles Rockwell pre- 
sided. The first speaker was the Hon. Calvin Goddard, of Nor- 
wich. He was followed by Hon. James Brewster, of New Haven, 
and others. 

The speeches being ended, the breaking of ground was begun. 
Mr. John Breed, with a polished pick, struck the first blow. Mr. 



266 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



George L. Perkins manned the wheel-barrow. Other prominent 
citizens, with spades and shovels and hoes performed the several 
parts that had been assigned to them. 

The road was completed in 1839; the first passenger cars run 
from Noi-wich to Worcester in Ncxvember of that year; the ex- 
tension to Allyn's Point finished in 1844. 




The Gale's Ferry R. R. Depot. 

The first president of the road was William C. Oilman ; the 
treasurer for many years, George L. Perkins. The name of the 
first engine was the Norwich. 

The extension of the road from Allyn's Point to Groton was 
completed in the spring of 1899; and public ceremonies in com- 
memoration of the event were held on Saturday, June 3, of that 
year. A special train left Norwich for New London at 3.00 p. m., 
and returned at 5.30. It consisted of six cars, filled with rail- 
road ofBcials and invited guests. A procession was formed and 
marched through the streets of New London. Public services, 
with music and speeches, were held in the depot in that city. 



THE NORWICH & WORCESTER RAILROAD. 267 

niose who were specially interested in the road during- the 
earlier stages of its history were very enthusiastic in regard to 
its prospects. Statements, made with the sanction of the di- 
rectors, in the winter of 1840-41, contained the following lan- 
guage : 

"The officers of the road most confidently anticipate that the 
dividends ol the stockholders, after paying all expenses and in- 
terest on the loans of the company, will be 10 or 15 per cent, 
per annum." 

As a matter of fact, the stock which was taken at par de- 
preciated till it became worth less than 20 per cent. 



APPENDIX. 

MEMORIAL OF SEPARATISTS OF PRESTON, NORTH 

GROTON, NORWICH AND STONINGTON TO THE 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF CONNECTICUT, 

OCTOBER, 1751. 

To the Honorable General Assembly of the Colony of Conn., 
to be convened at New Haven in said Colony, on the Second 
Thursday of Oct., A. D. 1751 : The memorial of John Avery 
and others, the subscribers, herewith humbly showeth that your 
memorialists live, some of us within the First, and some of us 
within the Second Ecclesiastical Society of the town of Pres- 
ton, some within the Second Society in Groton, and some few 
within the Fourth Society in Norwich, and some in the Second 
Society in Stonington, that we are that one of the very many 
Sects of professors of Christianity that are commonly called 
Separates from all the Churches and Religious Societies within 
whose limits we live ; that we settled according to the present 
establishment of this Government, that our habitations are 
generally compact, none of us living more than 7 or 8 miles 
from the place of our public meetings, and most of us within 
2 miles, that the number of families is about 40, and the number 
of souls about 300, of which there are more than 50 church 
members, all belonging to our communion and of our Profes- 
sion, that we have at our own cost settled a Minister and bulk 
a Meeting-house for Divine Worship, and have long since been 
embodied into Church estate, that nevertheless we are com- 
pelled to pay toward the support of the Ministry and for the 
building of Meeting-houses in the Societies from which we have 
respectively separated and dissented as above, and for our 
neglect to make payment for such rates we have many of us 
been imprisoned, others have had their estates torn and sold 



2y0 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

to the almost ruining of some families. We entreat the atten- 
tion of this Honorable Assem1)ly, and pray your Honors to 
suffer us to say that we always have and for the future most 
cheerfully shall contribute our proportion toward the support of 
Civil Government. And we not only prize and value but 
humbly claim and challenge our right in the immunities of the 
present Constitution. Our Religion and Principles are no ways 
subversive of Government ; and we are not only inclining but 
engaging to support it. And there is no difference between 
us and other members of the community, but what is merely 
Ecclesiastical. In which respect also they dilifer one from an- 
other, and the whole Christian world no less. Our religious 
sentiments and way of worship no ways efifect the State. We 
are as industrious in our btisiness and as punctual in our con- 
tracts as if we were Anabaptists or Quakers, and we challenge 
to hold, enjoy and improve what is our own by the same rules 
and laws as all other Denominations of Christians do. And 
we suppose there is in the nature of things no reason why we 
should not maintain and support any religion or any way of 
worship which we ourselves embrace and profess to receive the 
advantage of, and that nobody has the right to impede or hinder 
us in that way of worship which in our consciences we think 
to be right for us. In all matters civil we are accountable to 
the State. So in all matters of worship we are accountable to 
Him who is the object of it, to whom alone we must stand or 
fall ; and on these Primciples are founded all acts of toleration. 

Your Memorialists therefore humbly entreat the interposi- 
tioil and protection of this Honorable Assembly, that your 
Honors would order and grant that your Memorialists and all 
such as adhere to or shall be joined with and attend the public 
worship with them may for the future be released and ex- 
empted from paying taxes for the building of Meeting-houses 
and for the support of the Ministry in any of the Societies from 
which we have separated within the compass of 8 miles from 
the place of our public meetings, or such other limits as your 
Honors shall see fit ; or that your Honors would grant us the 
same ease and liberty as by law are provided for the ease of 



APPENDIX. 271 

Anabaptists and Quakers, or otherwise grant such reHef as in 
your wisdom you shall judge just. And your Memorialists are 
ready to qualify themselves according to the act of toleration, 
and, as in duty bound ever pray. 

Dated the tenth day of September, A. D. 1751. 

Hezekiah Parke, Rachel Parke, 

John Avery, Joseph Witter, 

Robert Parke, John Brewster, 

John Kimball, Thomas Woodward, 

Benajah Parke, Beriah Grant, 

Samuel Palmer, . Joshua Grant, 

Jacob Kimball, Park Woodward, 

Joseph Tyler, Zebulon Button, 

Zebulon Parish, James Parke, 

David Tracy, Jr., Daniel Thomas, 

Lemuel Tracy, Moses Meech, 

Josiah Parke, Silas Parke, 

Aaron Meech, Ephraim Jones, 

Peter Yerrington, Christopher Tracy, 

Paul Parke William Randal, 

Thomas Gates, Rozzil Parke. 
Prudence Kimball, 

ORDER TO SHERIFF RESPECTING PRESTON SEPA- 
RATISTS. 

To the Sheriff of the County of New London, his Deputy 
or either of the Constables of the towns of Norwich, Groton, 
Preston and Stonington, all within said County, greeting. 

In h'is Majesty's name you are commanded to summons the 
inhabitants of the First and Second Societies of the said town 
of Preston, the inhabitants of the Second Society in the town 
of Groton, and the inhabitants of the Fourth Society of the 
town of Norwich, and the inhabitants of the Second Society of 
the town of Stonington, that they appear before the General 
Assembly of the Colony of Conn., to be convened at New Haven 
in said Colony on the second Thursday of Oct. next, viz. that 



2^2 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

they appear before said Assembly on the Tuesday next after 
said Thursday to show reason, if they have any, why the 
prayer of the foregoing Memorial should not be granted, and 
you are to summons the inhabitants by leaving a true and at- 
tested Copy of the foregoing Memorial and this Citation with 
the Clerk of each of said Societies respectively at least 12 days 
before Tuesday; herein fail not and make due return. 

Dated at New London on the 2nd day of Sep., 1751. 

THOMAS FITCH, Dep.-Gov. 
A true Copy. 

Test, JEDEDIAH TRACY, said Sheriff's Deputy. 



APPENDIX. 



273 



ORDER FOR THE LAY OUT OF THE PRINCIPAL 

HIGHWAY LEADING FROM CENTRE GROTON 

TO PRESTON TOWN LINE IN 1723. 

We the Subscribers being Select men for this year Anno 
Dom 1723 we do appoint Mr. Ralph Stoder to Assist Mr. 
Joshua Bill to lay a particular highway fore Rod wide from 
the meeting house to the pine swamp Road for the North 
people of the Town to come to meeting and also to make satis- 
faction to all the proprietors which the said way is laid out 
through their land which satisfaction is to be made in Common 
or undivided land we the s<3 Select men having sufificient power 
to lay out any particular ways when it is wanting in our town. 
Groton October ye 21: 1723: JOSHUA BILL 

SAME LESTER 
JOHN AVERY 
NICHS STREET 
Entered Rec'i Oct. ye 24, 1723. Selectmen. 

The road laid out under this order is supposed to be 
that leading from Centre Groton North to the Preston line, 
leading to and over the present, so-called. Meeting-house hill, 
and by the "Bill Parsonage" to the then Pine swamp near the 
town line of Preston, and passed the Pequot reservation. This 
highway divides pretty nearly the town of Ledyard into two 
equal parts. 



18 



274 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



NAMES OF SCHOOL TEACHERS, SIXTH SCHOOL 
DISTRICT. 



1836-37 — Eleazer Williams. 
1837-38 — Eleazer Williams. 
1838-39 — Oliver Chapman. 
1839-40 — Stephen Billings. 
1840-4T — Hibberd R. Norman. 
1841-42 — Hibberd R. Norman. 
1842-43 — Sanford B. Smith. 
1843-44 — Erasmus Avery. 
1844-45 — Erasmus Avery. 
1845-46 — Stephen H. Norman. 
1846-47 — Wm. M. Gray. 
1847-48 — Jacob A. Geer. 
1848-49 — Dwight A. Satterlee. 
1849-50 — Isaac E. Gates. 
1850-51 — David Geer. 
1851-52— John G. Ball. 
1852-53 — Wm. H. Shepard. 
1853-54 — David Geer. 
i854-55^Simeon Gallup. 
1855-56 — Geo. Fanning. 
1856-57 — Cyrus F. Cook. 
1857-58— Samuel N. Hallett. 
1858-59 — Thos. P. Norman. 
1859-60 — Geo. Fanning. 
1860-61 — Geo. Fanning. 
1861-62 — John D. Brewster. 
1862-63 — Thos. P. Norman. 
1863-64 — Wm. H. Stanton. 
1864-65 — Mary Ann Williams. 
1865-66— Frank N. Whipple. 

1866-67 1 i' ^- ^^'''^.' 

i Geo. Fanning. 
1867-68 — Geo. Fanning. 



869 
870 

87 
872 

873 
874 

875 
876 
877 
878 
879 



868-69 — Cyrus T. Peckham. 

70 — Samuel N. Hallet. 

71 — Anna AI. Williams. 
-72 — Chas. B. Beckwith. 

73 — Robert E. Turner. 

74 — Eunice A. Geer. 

75 — Eunice A. Geer. 

76 — Eunice A. Geer. 

yy — Eunice A. Geer. 

78 — Eunice A. Geer. 

■79 — Russel Gallup. 

80 — Albert Geer. 

81 — Rev. Chas. Cutting. 
881-82 — Geo. Gray. 
882-83— Nellie W. Geer. 
883-84— Hattie A. Gray. 
884-85— Hattie A. Gray. 
885-86— Hattie A. Gray. 
886-87— John N. Peckham. 
887-88— John N. Peckham. 
888-89— Wm. L. Main. 
889-90— Wm. L. Main. 
890-91 — Chas. S. Caswell. 
891-92 — Calvin R. Main. 
892-93 — Hattie E. Fanning. 
893-94 — Susan F. Brown. 
894-95 — Susan F. Brown. 
895-96 — Susan F. Brown. 
896-97 — Susan F. Brown. 
897-98 — Susan F. Brown. 
898-99 — Susan F. Brown. 

899-1900 



j Marion Holdredge 



Edwin Gray. 



Attest, GEO. FANNING. 



APPENDIX. 275 

LETTER OF SAMUEL CAPRON TO 
COL. BENADAM GALLUP. 

Pauquatanock January 3d 1778 
Colo. Gallup 

Sir, I am desired by M''. W"^. Coit to Call on you to send me 
that Subscription that you had to get Subscribers for a Lottery 
to Build a Bridge across Norwich River, which must be laid 
before the town next Tuesday, and I will wait on you next Mon- 
day at 10 o'clock at Lieut Nehemiah Smith's. I would not have 
you fail on any account as it is of the Greatest Consequnce with 
regard to the Spott where to Sett the Bridge. 

From yours &c. 

SAMUEL CAPRON. 
To Colo. Benadam Gallup. 

LETTER OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 

TO Norman's, brown. 

Mr. Norman B. Brown, Postmaster, Gales Ferry, Connecticut. 

Quincy 3 September 1828. 
Sir 

I duly received your Letter of 9 ulto and Thank you for the 
friendly Sentiments expressed in it. The establishment of a 
Post Ofifice at the place of your residence I hope and trust is an 
indication of its thriving condition, for the continuance of which 
as well as for your own prosperity, and that of your family, be 
assured of the best wishes of your friend and fellow citizen 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO PERAMBULATE LINE 
BETWEEN GROTON AND PRESTON. 

At a Towne Meeting holden in Groton April 26th 1709. voted, 
— that Capt James Morgan and Capt James Avery two of the 
selectmen are chosen to meet with those men that the town of 
Norwich and the town of Preston doe inform this town that the 
said towne will send this present week to preambulate the line, 
between them and us — ^that is between Norwich and Groton, and 



276 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Preston and said Groton. At the same Town meeting voted, 
tliat the above said Capt. James Morgan Mr. George Gears are 
fully impowered to preambulate and settel the bounds between 
the said Norwich and Groton, and Preston and Groton, pro- 
vided the said towns Norwich and Preston give the men they 
send the same power, and that the men of Grotoii secure the 
property that the towne of New London purchased of Unkas 
that now belongs to Groton — 

Attest, NEHEMIAH SMITH. Towne Clerk. 



LIST OF PROBATE JUDGES. 

Since its incorporation in 1836 the town has constituted a 

Probate District by itself. The following persons have served as 
Probate Judges : 

Christopher Newton, James A. Billings, 

Erastus Williams, Jacob L. Gallup, 

Henry W. Avery, Nathaniel B. Geer, 

Samuel W. Wood, Jolm Brewster, 

Edmund Spicer, George Fanning, 

Israel Allyn, Russell Gallup. 



ROLL OF THE FALLEN, 

Lieut. Stantoii Allyn, 
Asa Allyn, 
Wm. R. Allyn, 
Stephen D. Allyn, 
Alexander W. Avery, 
Latham A. Bailey, 
John G. Ball, 
Thomas J. Clark, 
William E. Chapman, 
Edwin L. Christie, 
Thomas H. Frink, 
Montgomery Gray, 
Gurdon Greene, 
Warren A. Lamb, 
Augustus E. Maynard, 



ON SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. 

A. J. Maynard, 
Erastus A. Maynard, 
George Miller, 
Ray Moffit, 
Elias Myers, 
Moses N. Palmer, 
Gurdon Pratt, 
Charles L. Perkins, 
Samuel C. Rogers, 
Rodolph Slater, 
William Smith, 
Austin Whipple, 
Samuel S. Whipple, 
Chauncey 1'". Wilcox. 



APPENDIX. 277 

CATALOGUE OF DEATHS— 1713-1854. 

Soon after this History was begun there were several per- 
sons who thought it might be well to preserve upon its pages 
a list of the deaths that had occurred, upon the territory cov- 
ered by the town, between the date of its settlement and our 
own times. The idea was received with favor when suggested 
to others, and, presently, arrangements were made to carry it 
into efifect. 

In order to do this some fifty cemeteries needed to be visit- 
ed and the names and dates upon the tomb-stones copied. This 
work was cheerfully undertaken, and about thirty persons have 
participated in it. In addition to the facts thus secured many 
have been obtained from town records, family records and other 
sources. 

But the most fruitful source of information has been an old 
catalogue, published by Ansil Brown in the year 181 5. This old 
catalogue, corrected where errors have been discovered and en- 
larged by the addition of names that had been overlooked, 
covers the period between 1770 and 1813 inclusive. 

A large number of Pequot names appear upon the old cat- 
alogue ; and it seems fortunate that we can preserve them in 
this place, since the race to which they belonged is fast passing 
away. 

The small number of names which appear under the earlier 
dates is quite noticeable, and clearly indicates that our ancestors 
in that period erected but few monuments to the memory of 
their deceased friends. 

It will be noticed that this catalogue closes with the last of 
December, 1854. The reason for this is that the town records 
begin Jan. i, 1855; and from this time on to the present the 
presumption is that every death occuring in the town is re- 
corded upon them. 

It speaks well for the healthfulness of the place that so 
many who have resided in it have attained to great age. Mr. 
George Geer, who spent the greater part of his life in it, died at 
the home of his daughter in what is now Griswold, in 1726, aged 



278 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

105. Mrs. Lucy Turner, relict of Capt. Hawkins Turner, died 
March 16, 1809, at the age of 100. Her grave is in the south- 
east part of the town, near the village of Old Mystic. Widow 
Thankful Avery, who spent most of her life near Poquonnoc, 
but probably died at the home of one of her children in North 
Groton, was loi years old. Her death occurred Jan. — , 1813. 
Mrs. Gehannah (now Joanna) Williams, relict of Uriah, died at the 
home of her daughter, Mrs. Amos Barnes, in the north-east part 
of the town, June 10, 1854, aged 99 years and 8 months. Her 
grave is near the Baptist church. Mrs. Freelove Turner, relict 
of Bushnell Turner, lived in three centuries, the eighteenth, 
nineteenth and twentieth. She died Jan. 4, 1901, lacking but 
three months of being loi years old. She was a devoted mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, and in the cemetery near that church 
she was buried. 

1713- 
Feb. 12 — Abigail Park Avery, wife of Capt. Christopher. 

1714. 
Mrs. Margaret Williams. 

1723- 
May I — Samuel Avery, 'Esq. (59). 

1726. 
George Geer, in Preston, now Griswold (105). 

1738. 
Feb. 3 — Mary Stoder (64). 

1740. 
Hannah (Pequot?) (22). 
Prudence Fpwler. 

1741. 
Martha Tyler Geer. 

1742. 
Cap. Robert Geer (67). 

1744- 
Aug. 6 — Ralph Stodder, Jun. (49). 

1750. 
Henry Williams, 



APPENDIX. 279 

1751- 

Oct. 10 — James Smith i^i). 

1752. 
Feb. 19 — Lucy Avery, wife of James, 3rd (21). 
Samuel Fox. 

1753- 
Capt. Christopher Avery (73). 

Jan. 31 — John Sholes (76). 

Dec. 17— Ralph Stoddard (87). 

1755- 
Sept. 30 — Lieut. Benadam Gallup (63). 

1759- 
Feb. 2 — Eunice Gallup, wife of Benadam (63). 

March 14 — Edward Avery (84). 

April 30— Lois Gallup, daughter of Benadam (3). 

1760. 

April 6 — Robert Allyn (63). 

April 10 — Jonathan Stodard, son of Ralph (29). 

April 21 — Dea. Ebenezer Allyn (61). 

1761. 
Jan. 3 — Joanna Avery, wife of Edward (82). 
May 5— John Hurlbut (61). 

1763. 
Aug. 28 — Ebenezer Geer (54). 

1769. 
Sept. 14 — Saxton Allyn, son of John (2). 
Dec. 31 — Luther Allyn, son of Robert (3). 

1770. 
Feb. — Joseph Fox {yf). 
March — Sarah Rose, relict ol Joseph (88). 
March — Ezekiel Turner (70). 
July — Nathaniel Brown (80). 
Oct. — Eunice Stoddard, wife of Wait (20). 
Nov. — Abigail Gallup, daughter of Col. Benadam (8). 
Dec. — John Gallup, son of Col. Benadam (17), 
Dec. — James Gallup (22). 



28o HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

I77I. 

Jan. — Elkanah Stoddard (27). 

Jan. — Hannah Gallup, daughter of Col. Benadam (27). 

Ansel Gates (34). 

Feb. — Capt. John Morgan (71). 

March — Robert Stoddard (71). 

Oct. — Mary Brown, wife of Nathaniel (53). 

Dec. — Joseph Alorgan (34). 

1772. 
Feb. — William Morgan (26). 
May — Child of Joshua George (a native). 
June — Eleazer Allyn, son of Dea. Joiseph (4 months). 
Nov. — Ann Geer, daughter of Jacob (2). 
Dec. — Phebe Bellows, daughter of John (10). 
Dec. — John Stanton, son of Samuel (i). 

1773- 
Jan. — Richard Williams, son of Isaac (i). 
Jan. — Elijah Newton (40). 
Jan. — William Avery, at Gaudaloupe (27). 
Jan. — Luther Allyn (39). 

Feb. — Ephraim Morgan, son of Dea. Shapley (5). 
March — Stephen Allyn (23). 

March — Thankful Smith, daughter of Lt. Nehemiah (2). 
March — Ebenezer Morgan (21). 
March — Daniel Morgan, son of Dea. Shapley (3). 
May — Hannah Sterry, daughter of Samuel (19). 
June — Jacob Allyn (39). 
July — Joseph Latham (70). 
Sept. — Phebe Hurlbutt, wife of Stephen (37). 

1774- 
Jan. — Sarah Woodbridge, daughter of Paul (24). 
May — Reuben Pelton. 
Sept. — Elizabeth Leads (66). 
Oct. — Cyrus Allyn, son of Thomas (3). 

1775. 
Cyrus Whipple (21). 
James Park. 



APPENDIX. 281 

1 775 — Continued. 
Noah Whipple. 
Sept. — James Worden, Jr. (22). 

1776. 

Daniel Charles. 

Jacoh Cocheats. 

Isaac Comwas. 

Solomon Spiat. 1 ^., . . ,. , . , 

.7 ,, ihesc nme natives died in tlie 

Z. Meason. v , . 

^, /-• 1 . army this year. 

Ihomas Coeheats. -^ 

Charles Charley. 

Jacob George. 

Segon Thomas. J 

Jan. — Elizabeth Williams, daughter of Richard. 

Feb. — Martha Spicer, daughter of Capt. Oliver (19). 

Feb. — Allatha Allyn, wife of James (62). 

May Capron (80). 

May — James Park (53). 

May — Christopher Allyn (45). 

A/lay — Betsey Charles (a native). 

June — Williams Leads, died in New Jersey (17). 

Sept. — Luther Geer, died in New York (22). 

Sept. — Tabitha Perkins, wife of Dyer (33). 

Oct. — Zephorah Stedman, daughter of John (13). 

Oct. — Child of Joshua George (a native). 

Nov. — Thomas Cocheats (a native). 

Nov.— Wait Stoddard (48). 

Nov. — James Allyn (79). 

1777. 

Jan. — Elkanah Stoddard (2y). 

Jan. — Mary Zachney (a native). 

Jan. — Child of Mary Zachney. 

Feb. Senshemoin (a native). 

Feb. — Mary Stoddard (16). 

March — Child of John Stedman. 

March — Peter Cocheats (a native). 

March — Daniel Cocheats (a native). 



282 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

I 'J 'J 'J — Continued. 
April — Esther Cocheats (a native). 
April — William Morgan (54). 
April — Child of Moses Senshemon. 
April — James Avery (25). 
July — John Perkins. 
Aug. — John Stark, in New Jersey (21). 
Ausf. — Preescilla Stanton, wife of Samuel. 
Sept. — Tamer (a native). 
Sept. — Mercy Chapman, relict of William. 
Oct. — Sarah Woodbridge, wife of Paul (59). 
Oct. — Ithamar Bellows (63). 
Nov. — Ezekiel Perkins, at Stamford. 
Nov. — Michal Williams, wife of Peter (60). 
Dec. — Aaron Senshemon (a native). 
Dec. — Anny Cogog (a native). 
Dec. — Silas Pomeat (a native). 

1778. 
March — Child of Temperance Crank (a native). 
April — Josephus Stoddard, son of Ichabod (3). 
April — Moses Chrunks (a native). 
June — Lucretia Babcock, wife of James. 
June — Ebenezer Williams, (51). 
June — Thomas Williams (26). 
July — Christopher Avery (70). 
July — David Senshemon (a native). 
Aug. — Sanmel Geer, Jr. 
Aug. — Abigail Senshemon (a native). 
Aug. — Simeon Charles (a native). 
Sept. — Nathan Gallup, Jr. (24). 
Sept. — Sarah Gallup, wife of Col. Nathan (48). 
Sept. — Peg Chrunks (a native). 
Oct. — Elizabeth Daniels (a native). 

Oct. — Prudence Williams, daughter of Capt. Peleg (5). 
Nov. — Benajah Daniels. 
Nov. — Thaddeus Bailey, Jr. 
Nov. — John Holdridge (22). 



APPENDIX. 283 



1778 — Continued. 
Paul Woodt)ridg-e (71). 
Samuel Smith, (70). 

Capt. Theophilus Stanton, in the West Indies. 
John Tobey. ^ 
Janer Charles. | 

Wampey. [ These six natives died in the 

Moses George. !^ army this year. 

Joshua George. | 
J. Comwas. J 

1779. 
Jan. — Mrs. Mary El dredge (57). 
Jan. — John Mason (a native). 
April — James Babcock (44). 

April — Joshua M. Allyn, son of Elder Rufus (i). 
May — Daniel Charles (a native). 
May — Mary Edwards, wife of Charles (47). 
May — Sarah Chapman, wife of Amos (50). 
Aug. — Lucy Perkins, wife of Jacob. 
Aug. — Ashbel Woodbridge, son of Paul (18). 
Nov.— Robert Park (83). 
Dec. — John Stanton, in Providence. 
Dec. — Joseph Stanton, in Providence. 
Dec. — Child of Colhorin Charles (a native). 

1780. 
Jan. — Anna Giles, relict of John. 
Feb. — Lt. Phineas Bill (about 60). 
March — Samuel Stanton (33). 
April — Philip Gray (97). 
May — Elizabeth Sterry, wife of Samuel (60). 
May — Elkanah Morgan, son of Capt. John (23). 
July — Mary Morgan (84). 
July — Child of Joshua Charles (a native). 
Aug. — Robert Avery (24). 
No\H — Mary Allyn, wife of Ebenezer (73). 



284 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYAUI). 



1 780 — Continued. 
Dec. — Obadiah Bailey (52). 
Dec. — Timothy Lamb (39). 
Dec. — Zephaniah Waterhouse, son of Timothy (5). 

1781. 
Jan. — Woodbury Starkweather (29). 
Jan. — Ephraim Meson (a native). 
April — Temperance Charles (a native). 
June — Anna Otis, wife of Wm. (28). 
Aug. — Susannah Comstock (60). 
Sept. 6 — Capt. Samuel Allyn (47). 
Sept. 6 — Capt. Simeon Allyn (37). 
Sept. 6 — Capt. Amos Stanton (31) 
Sept. 6 — Lt. Henry Williams. 
Sept. 6 — Lt. Joseph Lewis (41). 
Sept. 6 — Ensign John Lester (42). 
Sept. 6 — Joseph Moxley. 
Sept. 6 — Rufus Hurlbutt. — - 
Sept. 6 — Asa Perkins (33). 
Sept. 6 — Simeon Morgan (27). 
Sept. 6 — Benadam Allyn (20). 
Sept. 6 — John Williams (42). 
Sept. 6 — Belton Allyn (17). 
Sept. 6 — John Stedman. 
Sept. 6 — Andrew Billings (22). 
Sept. 6 — Thomas Alexander (46). 
Sept. 6 — Elnathan Perkins. 
Sept. 6 — Luke Perkins. 
Sept. 6 — Simeon Perkins. 
Sept. 6 — Simeon Hill. 
Sept. 6 — Nathan Sholes. 
Sept. 6 — Moses Jones. 
Sept. 6 — Christopher Avery. 
Sept. 6 — Thomas Miner. 
Sept. 6 — Andrew Baker (26). 
Sept. 6 — Josiah Widger. 1 



V Killed at Fort Griswold. 



APPENDIX. 285 

1781 — Coiifiiiiicd. 
Sept. — Abel Chapman, at Bordeaux (22). 
Sept. — Mrs. Phebe S. Adams (37). 
Sept. — Gurdon Bill, son of Capt. Phineas (15). 
Sept. — Hannah Fox. 
Sept. — Jabez Allyn, son of James (3). 
Oct. — Widow Experience Williams (80). 
Nov.— Mary Allyn. 
Nov. — Danil E. Stanton (33). 
Nov. — Child of Jeffry (a native). 

1782. 
Jan. — Nathaniel Chapman, son of Dea. Joseph C. (in the army), 

(20). ' 
Jan. — Giles Sholes, son ol John (6). 
Jan. — Isaac A. Morgan (at sea) (19). 
Jan. — Elisha Morgan, son of John (14). 
Jan. — Mary Morgan, daughter of Israel (7 weeks). 
Eeb. — Sarah Chapman, wife of Joshua. 
Eeb. — Isaac Williams (at Branford) (25). 
Feb. — Robert Meson (a native). 
March — John Elderkin (64). 
March — James Lamb (49). 

March — Polly Turner, daughter of Ezekiel (5 months). 
April — Freelove Avery (13). 
May — Mary Turner. 

June — Susannah Stoddard, wife of Capt. Ralph (59). 
July 7 — Elkany Stodder (13). 
Aug. — Hannah Latham (69). 

Oct. — Clarissa Williams, daughter of Capt. Peleg (5). 
Oct. — Amos Chapman (21). 
Oct. — John Oaks (a native). 
Oct. — Thomas Avery. 
Nov. — Lydia Avery. 

Nov. — William (a native). 

Dec. — Robert Stanton (22). 



286 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

During the year the following: 
Mary Geer (and child), wife of Capt. Isaac (45). 
Thomas Bellows (on prison ship in New York) {2.']'). 
Constant Eady and wife. 
Tisdal Eady and wife. 

1783. 
Jan. — Lucy Allyn, wife of Thomas (41). 
March — Daniel Lamb (80). 
April — John Cooper (a native). 
July — Olive Chapman, wife of Wm. 
July — Peter Senshemon (a native). 
Sept. — Jacob Allyn, son oi John. 
Dec. — Mary Allyn, daughter of Elder Rufus (i). 

1784. 
Feb.— Child of Elisha Mallison. 
Feb. — George Avery. 
March — Squire Avery, son of James. 
March — Anna Bailey, wife of Jedediah. 
April — Ezekiel Gray, son of Philip, lost at sea (18). 
April — Mercy Meson (a native) ._ 

April Chunks (a native). 

May — David Alvason, (about 80). 
May — Capt. Oliver Spicer (48). 
July — Elizabeth Wampey (a native). 

Aug. — Jack (a negro). 

Aug. — William Morgan (31). 

Aug. — Mathew Brown (54). 

Sept. — Margery Newton, wife of Abel (40). 

Dec. — John L. Avery (24). 

Dec. — Benjamin Button, lost at sea (27). 

1785- 
Jan. — Sarah Ro'se, wife ol Robert (55). 
Feb. — Mary Avery, wife of James (42). 
March — Timothy Park. 
March — Sarah Stoddard, wife of Robert. 
April — Hopestel Holley, daughter of Joseph (2). 
April — John Morgan (at sea) (35). 



APPENDIX. 287 

1785 — Continued. 
April — Kiah Stoddard. 
April — Prudence Allyn (43). 

May — Experience Brown, daugfhter of Dea. William. 
May — Jemima Stoddard, wife of Vine (37). 

May — Jane , (a negress). 

May — Solomon Wampey (a native). 

June — Simeon Case, oi Norwich (52). 

June — Nehemiah Packer, son of John (4). 

June — Temperance Brown, daughter of Nath:;niel (8). 

July — Child of Mergan (a native). 

July — Child of John Packer. 

Aug. — Sarah Stoddard, daughter of Mark (17). 

Aug. — Mary Allyn, wife oi Trial (37). 

Nov. — James Etheridge (at sea) (41). 

Nov. — Child oi Joseph Senshemon (a native). 

Nov. — Wealthy Shon (a native). 

Dec. — Capt. Joseph Morgan (81). 

Dec. — Margaret Williams, wife of Wm. (68). 

Dec. — Anna Robins (a native). 

1786. 
Feb. — Widow Mary Stanton (90). 
March — Samuel A. Mallison, son oi Elisha (drowned) (i). 

March — Child of Barnes. 

March — Child oi Amy Charles (a native). 

April — Joshua Smith. 

May — Grace Adams (a native). 

May — Jacob Latham, son of Thos. (4). 

June — Child oi Capt. Joseph Moxley. 

June — Lucretia Avery, daughter of Maj. Daniel (2). 

June^ — Phebe Allyn, daughter of Thomas (8). 

July — Sophia Stoddard, daughter of Ichabod (6). 

July Park, wife of Jacob. 

Aug. Brook. 

Sept. — Child of Samuel Simons. 

Sept. — John Allyn (91). 

Sept. — Mary Williams, wife of Sam! (60). 



288 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1786- — Continued. 
Oct. — Samuel Williams (about 80). 
Oct. — George Geer (62). 

Oct. — Abigail Allyn, daughter of Thomas (8). 
Oct.— Elder Rufus Allyii (43). 

1787. 
Jan. — Prentice Williams, son of Peter (2). 
Jan. — Mary Eldridge, wife of Samuel. 
Feb. — Margaret Geer, daughter of Amos (12). 
March — Mary Stewart, relict of Phineas (83). 
March — Isaac Barnes, son of Jesse (5). 
March — Mary Billings, wife of Stephen (57). 
March — Joannah Allyn, wife of John (76). 
March — Christopher Newton, son of Stephen (6 weeks). 
April — John Worden, son of Joseph (7). 

April Morgan, wife of Joseph. 

April — Allyn Baker, son of Daniel. 

May — Sarah Jones, wife of John (59). 

May — Child of Jonas Senshemon (a native). 

May — A negro. 

May — Chloe (a negress). 

June — Hannah Gallup, daughter of Isaac (7). 

June — Amos Thomas (at New London). 

July — Child of Job Tinker (a native). 

Aug. — Job Tinker's wife (a native). 

Sept. — Hannah Allyn, daughter of James (2). 

Nov. — Daniel Stark (62). 

Nov. Senshemon (a native). 

Nov. — Anna Adams (a native). 

Nov. — Peter Chunch (a native). 

Dec. — Deborah Stark, wife of Amos (36). 

Dec. — ^Anna Brown, wife of Simeon (28). 

Dec. — Capt. Nathan Stanton, lost at sea. 

Dec. — David Bellows, lost at sea (27). 

1788. 
Jan. — Thomas Lester. 
Jan. — Hannah Charles (a native) (60). 



APPENDIX. 289 



1788 — Contuuicd. 
Jan. — Nathan Gallup, 3rd, son of N. 2nd (8). 

Feb. Tucker (a native). 

March — Jonathan Wood (80). 

Feb. Tucker (a native). 

April — Widow Dorathy Morgan (71). 
April — Elizabeth Barney (a native). 

April Jeffry (a native). 

April — Benjamin Debous (a native). 

May — Widow Patience Spicer (80). 

May — Eunice Perkins, daughter of Jacob (5). 

June — William Stark (38). 

June — Zerviah E. Stanton (33). 

July — Capt. Giles Latham. 

July — Abigail Avery. 

Aug. — Widow Meson (a native). 

Sept. — Lucy Geer, daughter of George G. (19). 

Sept. — Aaron Senshemon (a native). 

Sept. — Sarah Geer (27). 

Sept. — Rebecca Whipple, wife of Elijah (34), 

1789. 
Jan. — George Toby (a native). 
Feb. — Joseph Allyn, 2nd, son of Robert (18). 
March — Eunice Gallup, daughter of Nathan (8). 
May — John Toby (a native). 
May — Daniel Newton, son of Stephen (2). 
July — Bridget Dixson, daughter of John. 
July — Lucy Stoddard, wife of Robert (60). 
Sept. — Peter Lester (84). 
Sept. — Cap. Asa Avery (69.) 
Nov. — William Dixson, son of John. 
Nov. — Child of Hannah Wampey (a native). 
Nov. — Margaret Spicer. 

Nov. — Sarah Stanton, daughter of Amos (14). 
Nov. — Jabez Waterhouse (48). 

1790. 
Feb. — Abigail Geer, wife of Robert (87). 

19 



290 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1790 — Continued. 
Feb. — Anna Dick (a native). 
March — Lucretia Avery, wife of Asa. 
March — Tamer Meson (a native). 
April — David Avery (23). 
April — A black child. 
May — Anna Lester, wife of Peter (80). 
May — Capt. Menassah Short. 
May — Mary Hurlbutt, wife of John (84). 
June — Child of Senshemon (a native). 
July — Eunice Brown. 
July — Jonathan Latham. 

July — Charlotte Bailey, daughter of Thaddeus. 
July — John Avery. 
Aug. — Gurdon (a negro child). 
Sept. — Prime (a negro) (28). 

Sept. — Aaron Senshemon, son of Moses (a native) (i). 
Oct. — Joseph Williams, 3rd, son of Uriah (5). 
Oct. — Eunice Stoddard, wife of Wait (22). 
Oct. — Joseph Turner, Jr., son of Joseph (i). 
Nov. — Capt. John Morgan (62). 
Nov. — Widow Sarah Morgan (77). 
Nov. — Lucy Billings, daughter of Asa (i month). 
Dec. — Abigail Wailey (a native). 
Dec. — Prudence Avery, relict of John. 
Dec. — Jacob Charles (a native). 
Dec. — Elizabeth (a native). 

1791. 
Jan. — Jonathan Hiliard (44). 
Feb. — Sarah Gallup, wife of Josiah (30). 
Feb.— Mrs. Zerviah Niles (81). 
Feb. — Mary Lewis (a native). 
Feb. — Hannah Cooper (a native). 
March — Robert Rose (75). 
March — Child of Josiah Squib (a native). 
March — Child of Anny Wampey (a native). 
March — Child of Moses Senshemon (a native). 



APPENDIX. 291 

1791 — Continued. 
April — Daniel Cocheats (a native). 
April — Nathan AUyn (79). 
May — Daniel Ruff. 
June — Child of Latham Gray. 

June — Clarissa Williams, daughter of Peter (5 months). 
June — Child of Elisha Mallison (3 months). 
July — Olive Charles (a native). 
July — Anna Enos (a native). 
Aug. — Elizabeth Avery, wife of Lt. Theoph. (79). 
Aug. — Cato (a negro) (50). 
Sept. — James Stoddard (29). 
Oct. — John Charles (a native). 
Oct. — Charity Stoddard, wife of Jas. S., 2nd (29). 
Nov. — Eunice Gallup, daughter of Isaac (2). 
Nov. — Lois Bailey, wife of Thaddeus. 

1792. 
Jan. — Child of James Avery, Jr. 
Jan. — Esther Stoddard, daughter of Elkanah. 
Feb. — Deborah Lewis, relict of Joseph (55). 
April — Christopher Newton (90). 
April — Elizabeth Avery. 
May — Jacob Avery. 

May — Dolly (a native). 

June — Silas Sterry (in West Indies) (20). 

June — Child of Reuben Brown (2 weeks). 

July — Samuel Avery. 

July — William Chapman (8). 

Aug. — Child of Timothy Brosset (a native). 

Aug. — Keziah Chapman (67). 

Sept. — Rebecca Perkins, daughter of Jabez (5). 

Oct. — Child of Jacob Geer (3 months). 

Dec. — Lucy Davis, wife of Jephtha (44). 

1793- 
Jan. — Abel Lamb, son of Samuel (9). 
Feb. —William Heath. 
March — Daniel Giles (21). 



292 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1793 — Continued. 
March — Jedediah Bailey (85). 
March — Ezra Hewet (24). 
May — Squire Stoddard, son of Robert (7). 
June — Mary Perkins, relict of John (75). 
July — Mary Stoddard, wife of Jonathan (28). 
July — Prince (a negro) (60). 
July— John Billings, Jr. 
Sept. — Jo'hn Billings. 
Sept. — Dea. William Brown. 
Sept. — Caleb Turner, at Wilmington, N. C. 
Oct. — David Allyn, son of Nathan (5). 
Oct. — Benjamin Charles (a native). 
Dec. — Comfort Brown (72). 

Dec. — Samuel Gray, son of Thomas B. (11 days). 
Dec. — Esther Cocheats (a native). 

1794. 

Jan. — Mary (a native) (42). 

Feb. — Charles Turner, son of AmoiS (4). 

Feb. — Catherine Hallet, daughter of Thomas (6). 

March — Nancy Allyn, wife of Robert (33). 

March — Samuel Baker (84). 

March — Lydia Lamb, relict of John (70). 

April — Ebenezer Gallup (38). 

May — Tabathy Bill, daughter of Phineas (4). 

June — Emily Avery, daughter of Benajah (5 months). 

July — Sanford Williams, son of Isaac (3). 

July — Jemima Stark, relict of Daniel (67). 

July — Alexander Rose, son of Peleg (6 months). 

July — Child of James Etheridge. 

July — Frederic Allyn, Esq. (30). 

July — Samuel Starry (at Cadiz) (21). 

1795- 
Jan. — James Worden (80). 
Jan. — William Williams, Esq. (86). 
Jan. — Bridget Avery, wife of Benajah. 
Jan. — Jonathan Whipple (26). 



APPENDIX. 293 

1 795 — Continued. 
March — Jacob George (a native). 
April — Sarah Charles (a native). 
April — Isaac Williams (47). 

May — Lucy Avery, daughter of Isaac (10 months). 
July — Lydia Allyn, daughter of Samuel (2). 
Aug. — Daniel Driscoll (87). 
Aug. — Richard Daton (lost at sea) (52). 
Aug. — Jonathan Ledyard, son of Daniel (11 months). 
Aug. — Peggy (a native). 
Aug. — Ruth (a native). 
Aug. — Charles Eldridge (75). 

Sept. — Hannah H. Allyn, daughter of Robert (i). 
Sept. — Phebe Avery, daughter of Isaac (6 months). 
Oct — Joseph Williams. 
Nov. — Austin Avery, son of Amos (2). 
Nov. — Mary Smith, daughter of William (10 days). 
Dec. — James Eldridge, son of James. 
Dec. — Mary Allyn, relict of Ebenezer (61). 
Dec. — Edward Avery (31). 
Dec. — Calvin Bannet (71). 

1796. 
Jan. — Anna Hanes, wife of Daniel (88). 
Jan. — Thoimas Latham (at sea) (25). 
Jan. — Dorothy Bailey, daughter of Obadiah (30). 
Jan. — Sampson (a negro). 

March — Avery B. Stoddard, son of Avery P. (2 months). 
March — Eunice Avery, wife of Christopher (80). 
April — Lydia Stoddard, wife of Avery P. (23). 
May— Thomias N. Niles (56). 
June — Jane Bailey, daughter of Thaddeus (4). 
July — ^James Stanton (22). 
July — Hannah Bailey, wife of Jedediah (28). 
Aug. — John Williams (81). 
Sept. — Asa Rose (died in England) (22). 
Sept. — Christopher Whipple, son of Elijah (2), 
Oct, — Hannah Bampin (a native). 



294 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1 796 — Continued. 
Nov. — Levi Chapman, son of Levi (at Port au Prince) (18). 
Dec. — Comfort Brown, Jr. (at sea) (20). 
Dec. — Daniel Williams (at sea). 
Dec. — Annah Brown. 

1797. 
Feb. — Cyrus Geer, son of David (5). 
April — Margaret Stanton, daughter of Samuel (22). 
June — Prudence Geer, relict of Ebenezer (84). 
June — James Freeman (a negro). 
July — Abigail Smith, wife of Nehemiah (60). 
July — Child of Jabez Perkins. 
Oct.— Child of Robert Williams. 
Dec. — Edward Spicer (75). ^ 
Dec. — Avery Bailey (at Wilksbarre) (26). 

Dec. Turner, wife of Ezekiel (86). 

Dec. — Child of Samuel Wood. 

1798. 
Feb. — Eunice Stark, daughter of William (14). 
Feb. — Billings Stoddard, son of Robert (10 months)! 
March — Elizabeth Obrien, wife of Barnard (42). 
April — Joseph Latham (54). 
May— Child of Thomas Hallet. 
May— Child of Moses Smith. 
May — Sally Allyn, daughter of Trial (2). 
June — Surviah Lamb, relict of Daniel (90). 
June — Clarissa Lamb, daughter of Isaac (3 months). 
June — Thankful Worden (83). 
July — Lucy Stoddard, wife of Robert (60). 
Aug. — Child of Jesse Gallup (4 weeks). 
Sept. — Giles Bailey (23). 

Oct. — Betsey Eldridge, daughter of James (16). 
Nov. — Thankful Stanton, relict of Amos (48). 
Nov. — Charles Eldridge, Jr. (55). 
Dec. — Prudence Stanton, wife of John. 
Dec— John Williams (85). 
Dec. — Olive Rose, wife of Robert, 



APPENDIX. 295 

1 798 — Continued. 
Dec. — Abigail Spicer, relict of Edward (62). 
Capt. John Allyn (60). 

1799. 
Jan. — Stephen Stoddard, son oi James (10). 
Jan. — Col. Nathan Gallup (y2). 
Feb. — Hopsdel Perkins, wife of Christopher (24). 
Feb. — Sally Rose, daughter of Robert (16). 
Feb. — Prudence Stanton, relict of Capt. John (87). 
March — Eunice Morgan, wife of Joseph (33). 
June — William Barnes (21). 
July— John Sholes (86). 
July — Ebenezer Brown (74). 
July — Hannah Gallup, wife of Benadam (81). 
July — Susannah Williams, relict of John (82). 
Aug. — Child of Theoi)hilus Halsey. 
Aug. — Avery Allyn (at Surinam) (22). 
Sept. — Israel Geer (at Hampton, Va.). 
Sept. — Lieut. Theophilus Avery (91). 
Oct. — Nancy Bill, daughter of Joshua (2). 
Oct. — Temperance Allyn, wife of Ephraim (48). 
Oct. — Temperance Morgan, wife of Wm. (72). 
Oct. — Priscilla Bailey, wife of Ransford (24). 
Dec. — Moses Avery, son of Daniel (at sea) (20). 
Dec. — Esther Packer, daughter of John (5). 

1800. 
Jan. — Jeremiah Etheridge (at Norfolk, Va.) (32). 

Jan. Gallup, son of Christopher (8). 

March — Nehemiah Packer, son of John (11). 

March — Widow Anna Allyn (90). 

March — Col. Benadam Gallup (84). 

March — Sarah Gallup, daughter of Christopher (2). 

April — Lydia Driscoll, wife of Daniel (74). 

Ma)' — Seneca Etheridge, son of James (in the East Indies) (15). 

June — Child of James Avery, Jr. 

June^ — Nancy Newton (19). 

June. — Sabra Gray, wife of Philip (24). 



296 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYAUI). 

1 800 — Continued. 
June — Mary Avery, wife of Dea. Peter (70). 
Sept. — Dea. Shapley Morgan (61). 
Sept. — Joseph Bailey (57). 
Oct. — Daniel Sterry (at St. Vincent) (20). 
Abigail Thomas, relict of Daniel (72). 
Sarah Barnet, wife of Calvin (80). 
Abigail Smith, wife of Samuel (76). 

1 801. 
Jan. — Robert Geer, Esq. (94). 
Jan. — Ebenezer Pelton (62). 
Feb. — Thervel Bailey, son of Thaddeus. 
Feb. — Deborah Forsyth, wife of Robert (30). 
March — Anna Bailey, wife of Thaddeus (73). 
March — Jedediah Bailey. 
April — Mehitable Spink, wife oi Asa (40). 
April — Lucy Bill, daughter of Phineas (22). 
May— William Sholes (28). 

May — Eunice Sholes, daughter of Jonathan (i). 
June — Ezekiel Park (in Patagonia) (26). 
June — Margery Newtoii, daughter of Abel (20). 
July — Prudence Chapel, wife of Edward, Jr. (29). 
Aug.— Daniel Stark (38). 
Aug.— Anna Wampin (a native). 
Aug. — Mercy Pettis, wife of Joseph (35). 
Sept. — Benjamin Geer (87). 
Sept. — Jo'seph Stoddard (21). 

Sept. — James B. Williams, son of William (3 months). 
Oct. — Cyrus Geer. 

Oct. — Temperance Morgan, relict of Wm. (yy). 
Oct. — Samuel Avery (oii Staten Island) (20). 
Oct. — ^Thomas Latham (at Burlington) (56). 
Nov. — Simeon Bailey (at Norfolk. Va.) (52. 
Nov. — Samuel Sterry, son of William (3). 
John Holdridge (40). 
Eunice Whipple, wife of Samuel. 



APPENDIX. 297 

1802. 

Feb. — Elizabeth Gallup, wife of Nehemiah. 

April — Polly Geer, daughter of Richard (9). 

April — Daniel Lamb, son of Isaac (i). 

April — Shapley Morgan (38). 

April — Philip Gray. 

May — John M. Avery, son of John (20). 

July — Comfort Latham (at City Point) (25). 

July — Charles E. Rogers, son of Zabdiel (3 months). 

Aug. — Jesse Mainard, Jr., son of Jesse (10). 

Oct. — Timothy Crouch, son of Wm. (5). 

Oct. — Pollina Darrow (21). 

Nov. — Isaac A. Allyn, son of Thomas (17). 

Nov. — Lyman Sholes, son ol Jonathan. 

Nov. — Thomas Stednian (84). 

Dec. — Thomas Geer (^y). 

Dec. — Noah Bailey. 

Dec. — Anna Newton, wife of Mark (59). 

. 1803. 

Feb. — Mary Williams, wife of Henry (78). 

Feb. — Elizabeth Gallup, wife of Nehemiah (44). 

March — Child of Capt. Stephen NewtOiU. 

March — Sarah Gallup, daughter of Christopher (2), 

April — Bridget Smith, wife of Job (41). 

May — Catherine Enos, daughter of John (2). 

May — Thaddeus Bailey (about 60). 

June — Elizabeth Bellows, wife of John (y^i)- 

June — Patience Chapman, wife of David (83). 

June — John Stark (31). 

July — Allyn Turner (at Demerara) (26). 

Aug. — Hannah Bailey, wife of Joseph (63). 

Sept. — Phebe Williams, daughter of Joseph (4). 

Sept. — Amos Williams, son of Joseph (7). 

Sept. — Cinthia Williams, daughter of Joseph (11). 

Sept. — Mark Newton, son of Stephen (9 months). 

Oct. — Gershum Brown (about 78). 

Oct. — Aver^' Williams (at sea) (21). 



298 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1803 — Continued. 
Oct. — Susannah Williams, daughter of Allyn (2). 
Nov. — Polly Chapman, daughter of Obadiah (18). 
Nov. — Mark Newton, 2nd (at Shenango, N. Y.) (25). 
Nov.— Capt. Henry Williams (88). 
Dec. — Elijah Brown {y^). 

1804. 
Jan. — Eunice Smith, daughter of Wm. (i). 
Jan. — Daniel Edwards (95). 
Feb. — Child of Capt. Joseph Moxley. 
Feb. — Child of Capt. Daniel Stoddard. 
Feb. — Samuel Williams (in the State of New York) (81). 
Feb. — Capt. Oliver Spicer (78). 
Feb. — Sarah Allyn, wife of Elder Park (67). 
March — Henry Gray. 

March — Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Nathaniel (19). 
April — Anna Niles (24). 
April — Widow Deborah Stoddard. 
July — Kindric Brown, son of Daniel (2). 
Aug. — Hannah Brown, wife of Nathaniel. 
Aug. — Lucy Geer, relict of Robert (51). 
Aug. — Dury Fortune (a black woman) (65). 
Sept. — Zephorah Bailey, wife of Noah (59). 
Oct. — Abigail Gray, daughter of Thomas (2). 
Oct. — Rufus Pelton. 

Nov. — Elizabeth Allyn, wife of Amos (56). 
Nov. — Mark Newton (24). 
Nov. — Sarah Flallet, wife of Thomas (42). 
Dec. — Anna Geer (in New York) (74). 

1805. 
Jan. — Child of Moses Smith. 
Jan. — Thomas J. Spicer, son of Amos (2). 
Jan. — Child of Roswell Mallison. 
Jan. — Thankful Freeman (black) (26). 
Feb. — Elder Park Allyn (73). 
Feb. — Frederic Allyn, son of Robert (8). 
March — Mary Walworth (24). 



APPENDIX. 299 

1805 — Continued. 
April — Prudence Allyn, wife of Thomas (43). 
May — F.rastus Smith, son of John (i). 
May — Jerusha Baker, relict of Samuel (89). 
May — Eunice Avery, daughter of George W. (2). 
May — Betsey Latham, wife of Ebenezer (24). 
June — Asa Latham (at Genesee) (23). 
June — Jemima Chapman, wife of Joshua. 
June^ — John Jones (73). 
June — Child of Obadiah Chapman. 
July — Ezra Brown (75). 
July — Henry Wood (a negro), drowned. 
Sept. — Alniiren Smith, son of Job (2). 
Sept. — Alathea Allyn, daughter of Ephraim (5 months). 
Oct.— Mary Williams, relict of John (81). 
Oct. — Abigail Williams, daughter of Roger (2). 
Oct. — Shapley M. Williams, son of Roger (4). 
Oct. — Francis Allyn, son of Ephraim (3). 
Nov. — Child of Stanton Hewet. 
Nov. — Avery G. Turner, son of David (2). 
Nov. — David Chapman (87). 
Nov. — Po'Uina Bailey (at Bequit, Mass.) 
Dec. — Ansil Barnes, son of Nehemiah (10), 
Dec. — Elizabeth Avery, wife of Jacob (45). 
Dec. — Bridget Niles, wife of Silas (25). 
Dec. — Nehemiah Barnes, Jr. (21). 
Dec. — Sally Chapman, daughter of Levi (23). 
Dec. — Sarah Gallup, daughter of Christopher (1^/2). 

1806. 
Jan. — Ambrose Fish (66). 
Feb. — Sarah Stedman, relict of Jobn 
March — Ruth Brown, relict of Ebenezer (73). 
April — Lucy Whipple (27). 
May — Abigail Chapman, wife of Obadiah (41). 
June — Elijah Arthur (at Demerara) (16). 
July — Esther Brown, relict of Gershum (70). 
July — Nero (a negro) (35), 



300 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1 806 — Continued. 
Aug. — Sarah Hiliard, daughter of Jonathan (22). 
Aug. — Bridget MalHson, daughter of Roswell (20), 
Aug. — JuHa Williams, daughter of Allyn. 
Sept. — Elijah Avery (23). 
Sept. — Dan Bailey (24). 
Sept. — Child of Nehemiah Gallup (4 weeks). 
Oct. — Hannah Hallet, daughter of Thos. (20). 
Oct. — John Gardner, son of Stephen (11). 
Nov. — Jeremiah Wilbur (about 45). 
Nov. — Thomas H. Sholes, son of George W. (3). 
Nov. — Elizabeth Chapman, wife of Alpheus. 
Nov. — Lathrop Lamb, son of John (i). 
Dec. — Ebenezer Perkins (86). 
Ezra Obrien (23). 
Asa .Spink (lost at sea). 

1807. 
Jan. — Edward Avery, son of Daniel (17). 
Jan. — Timothy Lamb (74). 
March — Armina Perkins, daughter of Jabez. 
April — Roger Williams (43). 
April — Robert Stoddard (78). 

April — Deborah Morgan, wife of Christopher (58). 
July — Timothy Lamb, son of Isaac (5). 
July — Nathaniel Brown (93). 
Aug. — Richard Williams (80). 
Aug. — Amois A. Lester, son of Amos (2). 
Sept. — Anna Johnson, wife of Jacob (39). 
Sept. — Elisha Arthur (43). 
Sept. — Deborah Newton, wife of Agrippa (59), 
Sept. — Anna Lester, wife of Amos {y2). 
Oct. — Youngs Turner (at Demerara) (31). 
Oct. — Esther Bailey, wife of Isaac (30). 
Oct. — Child of Isaac Bailey. 
Oct. — William P. Lester, son of Asa. 
Oct. — Caroline Smith (23). 
Oct. — Thomas Swan (drowned in Thames). 



APPENDIX. 301 

1807 — Continued. 
Nov. — Ichabod A. Stoddard, son of Cephas (3). 
Nov. — Child of Simeon Bailey. 

Nov. — Lucy Williams, daughter of Rufus (17 days). 
Dec. — Lucy Avery, daughter of Isaac, Jr. (3). 
Dec. — Northup Niles (44). 
Dec. — Dea. Peter Avery (78). 
Dec. — Sarah Chapman, wife of Asa (44). 
Dec. — Cyrus Leonard (at sea) (25). 

1808. 
Jan. — Hannah Morgan, relict of Shapley. 
Jan. — Hannah Gallup, wife of Henry (76). 
Feb. — Hannah Stedman, daughter of Benjamin, Jr. (i). 
Feb. — Stephen Newbury, son of Nathan (4). 
Feb. — Phebe Discoll, daughter of Asa (9). 
March — TuU Freeman (a negro) (90). 
March — Esther Bailey, daughter of Amos (5). 
March — Jonathan Havens (53). 
March — Sarah Bailey, wife of Ezekiel (32). 
March — Temperance Moses (a black). 
March — Mary Rogers, daughter of Zabdiel (4 months). 
April — Abigail Lester, wife of Stewart (30). 
May — Amos Lester (80). 
May — EHsha Mallison (50). 
Sept. — Child of Robert Chapman (6 weeks). 
Sept. — Roger Clark (45). 

Nov. — Margaret Stedman, daughter of Benjamin (6 months). 
Nov. — Amy Chapman, wife of Amos (23). 
Dec. — James Stedman, 3rd (25). 
Dec. — Ednah Allyn, relict of Jacob (67). 

1809. 
Jan. — Noah O'Brien, son of Barnard (17). 
Jan. — Patience Chapman, daughter of John (2). 
Feb. — Hannah Stedman, daughter of Benjamin, Jr. (2). 
Feb. — Zachariah Waterhouse (42). 
March — George Davison, son of Luther (3). 
March — Lucy Turner, relict of Hawkins (100). 



302 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1809 — Continued. 
April — Isaac Stanton (67). 
April — Child ol Asa Barnes. 
April — Solomon Geer (41). 
April — Amois Chapman (88). 

April — Elizabeth Fanning, relict of Capt. F. (86). 
May — Martha Billings, wife of Stephen (80). 
June — John A. Rogers, son of Charles L. (5). 
July — Lydia Freeman (a black) (22). 
Aug. — Capt. Stephen Sterry (lost at sea) (^;^). 
Sept. — Elisha Williams, Esq. (63). 
Oct. — Benjamin Stedman, Jr. (26). 
Nov. — Gilbert Moxley, son of Thomas (2V2). 
Dec. — Charles Allyn, son of Trial (9). 
Eliza Bill, daughter of Lodowick (2%). 

1810. 
Jan. — Jacob Park (84). 
Feb. — Samuel Stanton (yy). 
March — Child of John Chapman. 
April— Richard C. Bill, son oi Richard D. Bill (4). 
April — Mary H. Avery, wife of Elisha (29). 
April — Cyrus Williams (a negro) (58). 
May — Lieut. Nehemiah Smith {77). 

May — William Hallet (drowned in New York State) (26). 
May — Griswold Latham (drowned in New York State) (24). 

(Latham was trying to save Hallet from drowning in 

Canisteen river). 
July— Jacob Avery (53). 

July — Patience Chapman, daughter of Levi (29). 
July — Israel Brown. 
Aug. — William Hall (52). 
Sept. — Rhispby Chapman, relict of Amos. 
Sept. — Fanny Rogers, wife of Zabdiel (44). 
Dec. — Abigail Whipple, daughter of Silas (8 months). 
Dec. — Perry Garnard, son of Jonathan (17). 

1811. 
Feb. — Lydia Roach, daughter of Thomas (23). 



APPENDIX. 303 

181 1 — Coiifiiiiicd. 
March — Martha Newton, reHct of Christopher (83). 
March — Sibil Avery, wife of Maj. Daniel (53). 

March Gray, wife of Benjamin. 

April — Hezekiah P. Benjamin, son of Ranselier B. (4 weeks). 

April — Timothy W'hipple, son of Silas (3 months). 

April — Child of Nehemiah Gallup. 

April — Ambrose Fish (30). 

April — Loisa Wilcox, daughter of Robert (i). 

May — Rebecca Allyn, wife of Robert (50). 

May— Lois Mulkey (3). 

June — Benajah Avery (68). 

July — Ebenezer Pratt (40). 

July — Capt. Phineas S. Hudson (48). 

July — Widow Bellows (83). 

Aug. — Susannah Reed (a native) from Rhode Island. 

Aug. — Widow Arthur (86). 

Aug. — John Avery (65). 

Aug.— Capt. Ralph Stoddard (88). 

Aug. — Isaac Babcock (57). 

Sept. — Lieut. Robert Wilcox, by accident, a remarkable death 

(28). 
Oct.— Capt. Robert Allyn (55). 
Oct. — Martha Standish, wife of Isaac (70). 
Oct. — Anthony Freeman (a negro) (28). 
Nov. — Avery A. Bill (at Wilmington, N. C.) (37). 
Nov. — Henry Gallup (86). 
Nov. — Robert Allyn, Esq. (83). 
Dec. — James L. Brown, son of Reuben (3). 

1812. 
Jan. — Lydia Spicer, wife of James (34). 
Jan. — Samuel Newton. 
Jan.— Child of Wait R. Worden. 
Feb. — Sarah Spicer, relict of Abel (70). 
March — Abel Brown. 

March — Suffiah C. Gates, relict of Asa (74). 
March — Widow Amy Newton (75). 



304 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

i8i2 — Continued. 
April — Esther Stanton (i8). 

April — Sabrina Brown, daughter of Nathaniel (19). 
April — Mary Culver (19). 
May — Asa M. Bellows (at New York) (29). 

May Perkins, wife of Jacob, 2d. 

June — Thomas Allyn (70). 

Aug. — Child of Hollen Prosser. 

Aug. — Capt. Samuel Wood (48). 

Aug. — William Perkins (29). 

Sept. — Polly Hewlet, wife of Comfort {72). 

Oct. — Elizabeth Ruff, relict of Daniel (90). 

Oct. — James Newton (in Ohio) (27). 

Oct. — Child of Elijah Barns. 

Oct. — Jenny Freeman (a black) (80). 

Nov. — Nancy Perkins, wife of Sebra (23). 

Nov. — Priscilla Lee, wife of Joseph (81). 

Nov. — Jane Billings (a black). 

Dec. — Prudence Bailey, wife of Ezekiel. 

Dec. — Ruth Williams, wife of Rufus (39). 

Dec. — Polly Smith, wife of Joseph (21). 

Dec. — Asa Stoddard, son of Asa (2). 

1813. 
Jan. — Widow Thankful Avery (loi). 
Jan. — Isaac Peckham (70). 
Jan. — Ashbel Chapman, son of Rufus (2). 
March — Mary Williams, wife of Ebenezer (70). 
April — Wife of John Perkins. 
May— Abigail Gates (56). 
May — Nancy Tyler (of Stonirigton). 
May — Ezekiel Bailey. 
June — Dea. Joseph Allyn (78). 
July — Mehetable Bill, relict of Phineas (90). 
July — Ephraim Allyn (at Sacket's Harbor) (33). 
July — Clarissa Stoddard, daughter of Daniel (18). 
Aug. — Freelove Morgan, relict of Shapley {7^. 
Aug. — Capt. Allyn Williams (40). 



APPENDIX. 305 

1813 — Con tinned. 

Aug. — Fanny Smith, daughter of Thomas (20). 

Sept. — Mary HiHard, relict of Jonathan. 

Sept. — Lucy Gray, wife of Jonas (43). 

Sept. — Hannah Stoddard, daughter of Ebenezer (i). 

Sept. — Stephen Allyn, son of Miner, Jr. (2). 

Oct. — Mary Allyn, relict of Dea. Joseph (74). 

Oct. — Nathan Lester (71). 

Oct. — Surviah Arthur, daughter of Elisha (14). 

Oct. — Deborah Holdridge (y2). 

Oct. — Hannah Stoddard, wife of James (76). 

Nov. — Temperance Adams, wife of Guy (30). 

Dec. — Lucy Avery, daughter of Theophilus (19). 

Dec. — x^nna Driscoll (30). 

Dec. — Benjamin Gray. 

Dec. — Lucy Avery, wife of Isaac (65). 

Dec. — Jabez Lamb (at Demerara) (37). 

1814. 
Jan. — Roswell M. Avery, son of Isaac, 2d (12). 
Jan. — Elizabeth Moxley, relict of Joseph (74). 
Jan. — Child of William Lamb, Jr. 
Jan. — Child of Margery Gates. 
Jan. — Ann Geer, relict of Solomon (36). 
Jan. — Jacob Geer (82). 
Jan. — Nathaniel Bellows (57). 
Feb. — Esther Standish, wife of Nathan (65). 
Feb.— Asa Gray (38). 

Feb. 15 — Daughter of Jacob Gallup (12 days). 
April 2 — Anna Allyn (6y). 
April 3 — Dea. Joseph Chapman (83). 
April 18 — Lucy Lester (70). 
May 6 — Sabra Avery, wife of Theophilus (62). 
July 4— Mrs. Elizabeth Eaton (28). 
Aug. 3 — Isaac Gallup, Esq. (72). 
Sept. 5 — Timothy Watrous (49). 
Nov. 9 — Mary Holdridge, wife of Phineas (68). 
20 



306 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1814 — Continued. 
Nov. 18 — Capt. William Williams (74). 
Dec. 5 — Amos Bolles (76). 
Dec. 30 — Prudence Allyn, daughter of Thomas {2Tf). 

1815. 
Jan. I — Phineas Holdridge {77). 
April 16 — Prudence Morgan (87), 
Tune 13 — Abel Newton (68). 
Oct. 8 — Eunice Barnes (78). 
Oct. 22— Albert M. Allyn (10). 
Nov. 10 — Capt. Joseph Moxley (52). 

1816. 
March 26 — Sarah Geer, wife of Gurdon (61). — 
April 16 — Asa Chapman (24). 
June 4 — Capt. Israel Morgan (59). 
July 5 — Mary H. Avery, daughter of Nathan (5). 
Aug. 22 — Abby M. Averill (3). 
Sept. 8 — Gurdon Bill Spicer (10). ^ 
Sept. 19 — Alathea Spicer (86). 
Sept. 24 — Billings Allyn, son of Thomas (18). 
Sept. 25 — Allyn Mallison (in Mo.) (29). 
Nov. 30 — Thomas A. Williams, son of John (5 months). 
Dec. 28 — Ephraim Allyn (69). 

— Isaac Wightman (72). 

1817. 
Feb. 10 — Asa Bellows (55). 
June 17 — Albert Latham, son of Jonas (i). 
Aug. 23 — Mary Gray (71) 
Sept. 7 — Lucien Niks, son of Rodman (7). 
Sept. 20 — William E. Maynard (2%). 
Oct. 8— Nathan Holdridge (50). 
Nov. 6^Mrs. Nancy Lester (44). 
Dec. 27 — Jabez Averill (41). 

1818. 
Feb. 12 — Martha Gallup, wife of Christopher (52). 
Feb. 28 — Cynthia Spicer (i). 
April 12 — Dea. Benadam Gallup {77). 



APPENDIX. 307 

1818 — Continued. 
Nov. 2 — Sabra Barnes (47). 

Nov. 21 — Frederick I. Allyn, son of Lathrop (i 1-3). 
— Allyn Lamb (27). 

1819. 
March 28 — Valentine Lewis (85). 
May II — Mrs. Experience Stoddard (41). 
Sept. 21 — Sarah Bradford, wife of xAdonijah (50) 
Oct. 29 — Capt. Simeon Crandall (at sea) (30). 
Oct. 29 — Squire Mallison (24). 

— Lucretia P. Wightman, wife of Isaac (73). 

1820. 
Jan. 12 — Agrippa Newton (81). 
June 3 — Dezire Watrous, daughter of John (17). 
June II — John Watrous (42). 
June 15 — John Watrous, Jun. (19). 
June 28 — Mrs. Abigail Williams (60). 
July 17 — Joseph Lee (88). 
Aug. 15 — Fanny Bedent, wife of Jesse (25). 
Oct. 13 — Hannah Allyn, wife of Robert (88). 
Oct. 14 — Frederick Hemstead (6 months). 
Dec. 13 — Caroline Allyn, daughter of Cyrus (i). 

1821. 
Jan. 12 — Joseph Williams (63). 
Jan. 17 — Nathaniel Brown (63). 
Feb. 13 — Ansel Brown (28). 
March 1 2 — Dezire Watrous, wife of John (41). 
May 9 — Anna Geer (85). 

July 20 — Calvin Gallup, son of Jacob (i month), 
■^"g"- 7 — Reuben Brown (58). 
Aug. 26 — William Williams, Jun. (21). 
Dec. 13 — Thomas Williams (38). 

Dec. 16 — Capt. Latham Allyn (in Charlestown, S. C.) {2y). 
— Lucy C. Adams, wife of Capt. Elihu (33). 

1822. 
Feb. 10 — Cynthia W. Allyn (39). 
Feb. 22 — James Avery (85). 



308 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1822 — Continued. 
March 15 — Jesse Gallup (71). 
March 16 — Mrs. Lucretia Taylor (24). 
April 13 — Bridget Lester, wife of Peter (88). 
May 23 — Lucy E. Stoddard (3). 
April 16 — James Allyn (24). 
April 16 — Fanny S. Allyn (29). 
June 6 — Gilmon Allyn (18). 
July 18— Mary Geer (85). 

Aug. 2 — Sybil Avery, daughter of Anson (10). 
Aug. 13 — Jefiferson Williams, son of William (16). 
Sept. 3 — Isaac Avery, Esq. (75). 
Sept. 16 — Lydia Avery, relict of James (81). 
Sept. 18 — Sarah J. Denison, wife of Joseph (18). 
Oct. 4 — Prudence Barnes (38). 
Nov. 17 — Comfort Brown (76). 
Nov. 18 — John Stanton (at sea). 
Dec. I — Maj. Daniel Avery (64). 

1823. 
March 3 — Capt. Shubael Smith (48). 
April 21 — Nathan Allyn (at St. Vincent's, W. L) (59). 
Aug. 19 — Sabrina Brown, daughter of Daniel (28). 
Aug. 22 — Bridget Gallup, wife of Dea. Benadam (80). 
Sept. 8 — Hannah Hurlbutt, wife of Asaph (50). 
Sept. 9 — Alice Adams (71). 

Oct. 14 — Gloriana Eldredge, relict of Charles (78). 
Oct. 22 — Eliza C. Perkins (7). 
Nov. 6 — Peleg Rose (71). 
Nov. 10 — Amos Barnes (48). 

Nov. 22 — Deborah Avery, wife of Maj. Daniel (55). 
Dec. 20 — Sarah Williams (67). 

— Alice E. Adams, wife of Daniel (71). 

1824. 
May 19 — Joshua Bill, son of Gurdon (i day). 
June 9 — Moses Avery (25). 
July 9 — Mary A. Spicer (15). 
July 25 — Moses P. Avery, son of Moses (5 months). 



APPENDIX. 309 

1 824 — Continued. 
July 2y — Mrs. Prudence Cushman (60). 
Aug. 20 — Sarah M. Gray (15). 
Sept. 2y — Henrietta Allyn (34). 
Oct. 13— Mrs. James Allyn (86). 
Oct. 14. — Hannah Gallup (61). 
Oct. 17— Martha Stoddard, wife of Ichabod (82). 
Nov. 3 — Margaret Babcock (81). 

1825. 
Feb. 14 — Robert Wilcox, infant son of Robert. 
April 20 — Ichabod Stoddard (83). 
May 3 — Sarah Newton (80). 
June 7 — Deborah Hallet, wife of Henry (26). 
Sept. 29 — Prudence Williams, relict of Capt. William (y2). 
Nov. 15 — Adonijah F. Bradford (55). 
Nov. 16 — Asa Chapman (67). 

Nov. 18 — Mary D. Bradford, daughter of Adonijah (16). 
Dec. 15 — Katherine Gallup, wife of Jesse (72). 

1826. 
Jan. 29 — ^Josiah Gallup (65). 
Jan. 31 — Charles H. Williams, son of Ephraim (i). 

— Henry Williams. 
March 6 — James Stoddard (92). 
JNIarch 8 — Joseph Bill, son of Gurdon (i month). 
March 9 — Rachel Crouch, wife of John (20). 
March 15 — Son of Daniel Williams (16 days). 
April 7 — Mrs. Hannah Hurlburt, wife of Rufus (89). 
April 19 — Zabdiel Rogers (62). 
April 23 — Gurdon F. Allyn, son of Gurdon (9). 
May 13 — Esther Brown (62). 
June 2 — John Q. Avery, son of Dudley (i). 
Aug. 2 — Silas Niles (49). 

Aug. 8 — Aseneth Gere, wife of Col. Isaac W. (24). 
Sept. I — Elizabeth Averill, wife of Gideon (74). 
Sept. 15 — Elizabeth Morgan, wife of Israel (70). 



3IO HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1827. 

Jan. 3 — Eunice Latham, wife of Thomas {yf). 

Jan. 23 — Mary Allyn, wife of Joseph (68). 

Feb. 7 — Robert Latham (40). 

Feb. 18— Nathan D. Galhip (24). 

Feb. 20 — Mabel Williams (70). 

March 10 — Sarah Bellows, relict of Nathaniel (65). 

May 20 — Edmund Chapel (78). 

June 10 — John Dickerson (16). 

July 9 — Wm. E. Newbury (2). 

July II — Allyn Lester (52). 

Sept. 26 — Betsey Gallup, wife of Jesse (29). 

1828. 
March 29 — Dorothy Lester, wife of Asa (60). 
April I — John Williams, son of Erastus (i). 
April 6 — Son of Thomas Roach. 
April 7— Thomas Allen (83). 
April 22 — Squire Lee (73). 

May 27 — Horace Gallup, son of Jacob (8 months). 
June 23 — Laury Newton, daughter of Elijah (30). 
Aug. 17 — Albert Stoddard, son of Sanford (10). 
Aug. 29 — Maria L. Perkins (3). 
Sept. 15 — Sabrina Barnes (16). 
Sept. 29 — Parthenia Gallup, wife of Jacob (34). 
Oct. 12 — Melinda Gallup, wife of Avery (26). 
Dec. 13 — Francis W. Allyn (19). 

1829. 
Jan. 10 — Ellen J. Stoddard, daughter of Sanford (6 months). 
Feb. 7 — Daniel Adams (73). 
March 8— Capt. Mark Stoddard (85). 
April 17 — Hannah Hurlbutt, daughter of Asaph (27). 
April 17 — Sally Stoddard, wife of Asa (47). 
May 8 — Zephaniah Watrous (4 months). 
May 19 — Mrs. Emeline L. Short (23). 
June 27 — Infant son of Stephen and Martha Billings. 
July 21 — Eunice Fanning, relict of George (82). 
Aug. 29 — Charles W. Crandall (3 months). 



APPENDIX. 311 

1 829 — Continued. 
Sept. 7 — Emeline L. Short (4 months). 
Sept. 14 — Ann Ethridge (50). 

-^rjohn Seabnry Spicer (27). 

— Daniel Adams, a Revohitionay soldier (73). 

— Capt. Elihu Adams (45). 
1830. 
Eeb. 9 — Lucy A. Avery, daughter of Dudley (4). 
Feb. 24. — Sidney S. Avery, son of Dudley (8). 
March 16 — Anna Chapman, wife of Joseph (94). 
March 22 — James A. Hempstead (20). 
April 9 — Frederic Bill, son of Gurdon (i). 
April 16 — Mason Gallup, son of Nehemiah (4). 
April 21 — Mary Chapman, daughter of Eber (25). 
July 22 — Amos Allyn (83). 
Sept. 5 — Giles Latham, son of Jonas (22). 
Sept. 7 — Nancy Crouch, wife of Daniel (22). 
Oct. 10 — Franklin Brown (24). 

Nov. 25 — Bybon Allyn, son of Cyrus (10 months). 
Dec. 25 — Deborah Brown, wife of Nathaniel (80). 

1831. 
March 23 — Ebenezer Morgan (75). 
April 18 — Hannah Avery, wife of Dea. Peter (89). 
April 27 — Elizabeth Williams, daughter of John (i^-^). 
May 3 — Rufus Williams (69). 
May 6— Sarah L. Arthur (38). 
May 21 — Prentice Avery (50). 
July 6— Allen Welch (21). 
July 15 — Christopher Morgan (83). 
July 21— Mrs. Esther Gere (85). 
July 29— Lucy Stoddard, wife of Mark (84). 
Aug. 10 — L^rsula M. Chapman, wife of Simeon (30). 
Sept. 9 — Sarah Stoddard, wife of Robert (80). 
Nov. 12 — Frederick M. Niles (26). 
Nov. 22 — Henry Gallup (74). 
Dec. — Albert G. Hempstead (26). 
Dec. 7^Stephen S. Ball, son of Alfred (4). 



312 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1831 — Continued. 
Dec. 13 — John P. Gallup, son of Lodowick (10). 

1832. 
March 4 — Capt. John Stanton (58). 
April 19 — Capt. John Wood (91). 
April 19 — Dorothy Lester, relict of John (91). 
July 19 — Sarah F. Ball, daughter of Alfred (6). 
July 30 — Elias Rose, son of James (2%). 
Aug. 8 — Capt. Guy Adams (at sea) (46). 
Oct. 16 — Edwin Newbury (i). 
Oct. 19 — Eneas Holdridge (24). 
Nov. 6 — Thankful Roach, wife of Thomas (63). 

1833- 
Jan. 8 — Julia Arthur (2). 

Jan. 10 — Esther Bailey, wife of Obadiah (87). 
Feb. 3 — Huldah Chapman, daughter of Simeon (2). 
A'larch 23 — Prudence Avery, wife of Billings (31). 
May 18 — Mary Peckham, daughter of Rev. Stephen (3). 
May 29 — John L. F'orsyth (7 weeks). 
July 15 — Billings Avery (31). 

July 20 — William S. Thomas, son of Seabury (3). 
July 20 — Hannah L. Reynolds (24). 
July 23 — Darius Perkins (39). 

July 31 — Latham F. Allyn (drowned in Colchester) (15). 
July 31 — Capt. Enos Morgan (59). 
Aug. 17 — Mary Wilcox, infant daughter of Robert. 
Aug. 26 — Samuel Allyn (62). 

Sept. 4 — Austin L. Perkins, son of Stephen (5). 
Nov. 1 1 — Sidney Stoddard (34). 
Nov. 12 — Elizabeth H. Hempstead (30). 
Nov. 13 — Diadamia Wood (32). 
Nov. 13 — Margareth Wood (32). 
Nov. 26 — Mary Vincent (34). 
Dec. 21 — Anna Brown, daughter of Aaron (17). 

1834. 
Jan. 18 — Eleazer Brown (22). 
Jan. 29 — Vine Stoddard (85). 



APPENDIX. 313 

1 834 — Continued. 
March 4 — Infant son of Elias Gallup. 
May II — James Gallup (63). 

May 26 — Emeline Satterlee, daughter of Elisha (5). 
April 30 — Robinson J. Bailey (at sea) {2y). 
July 8 — Dea. Samuel Lamb (86). 
July 8 — Solon Moxley (21). 

July 18 — Tabitha Lamb, wife of Dea. Samuel (78). 
Aug. 24 — Rodman Niles (61). 
Aug. 27 — John Wood, Jun. (49). 
Aug. 30 — Robert Geer (91). 

Aug. 31 — Olive E. Gallup, daughter of Lodowick (23). 
Sept. 6 — Austin Hallet, son of Henry (11). 
Sept. 12 — William A. Stoddard (21). 
Nov. 21 — Lucy Gallup, relict of Nathan (85). 
Nov. 23 — Abigail J. Perkins, daughter of Stephen (8). 
Dec. 10 — Cynthia Roach (35). 

1835- 
March 10 — Deborah Latham, wife of Joseph (88). 
April 24 — Ereelove Hurlbutt (68). 
April 30 — Content Whipple, wife of Noah (41). 
May 20 — Mary F. Prosser (25). 
May 25 — James Fanning, Jun. (34). 
Aug. 10 — Perez B. Allyn, son of Gurdon (5 months). 
Aug. 31 — David Geer (80). 

Sept. II — Rebecca Whipple, daughter of Noah (2). 
Sept. 20 — Esther Brown, daughter of Daniel (37). 
Oct.— Elizabeth Stark (75). 
Oct. II — Martha Newton (57). 
Nov. 30 — Almira W. Ayer, wife of George (28). 
Dec. 16 — Melinda Gallup, wife of Luke (42).' 

1836. 
Jan. 23 — Thomas Prentice, son of Thomas (3). 
March 5 — Robert Stoddard, Jun. (54). 
April 10 — Mrs. Susan Forsyth (24). 
April 13^ — Simeon Gallup (55). 
April 14 — Lucy Barnes (70), 



314 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1 836 — Continued. 
April 16 — Sylvia Newton (81). 
April 17 — Ruth Brown, wife of Comfort (85). 
April 27 — Caroline E. Woodmansee (i). 
April 28 — Silas Whipple, son of Noah (i). 
June 5 — Samuel Whipple (38). 
June 15 — Elkanah Newbury (45). 
July 29 — Daniel Thomas (80). 

Aug. II — Harriet C. Whipple, wife of Samuel (38). 
Aug. 20 — Mary L. Jagger (2). 
Sept. 5 — Abiah Watrous (5). 
Oct. 6 — Lydia Latham, relict of Daniel (95). 
Nov. 21 — Mary Geer (78). 
Dec. 4 — Prudence Geer (61). 

1837- 
Jan. I — Jerusha Rose, wife of James (45). 
Feb. 8— Sarah Stoddard, wife of Robert (78). 
March 15 — Hannah Larrabee, wife of Adam (39). 
April 14 — Elias Gallup (39). 
April 24 — Esther AUyn, relict of Amos (78). 
May 28 — Hannah Freeman, relict of Robert (yy). 
June II — Alfred Allyn (34). 
July — Elisha Denison (22). 
Aug. 7 — Samuel Vincent (30). 
Sept. 28— Peter Williams (82). 
Oct. 17 — Lucy Hurlbutt (59). 
Dec. I — Oliver W. Champlin (33). 
Dec. 6— Peter L. Hurlbutt (61). 
Dec. 13 — Eunice Thomas, relict of Daniel (80). 
— Hannah Rose (95). 

1838. 
Feb 4 — Sarah Dean, relict of John (85). 
Feb 7 — Anna Stoddard (47). 
March 15 — Philip Gray (62). 
April 5 — Jonathan Sholes (70). 
April II — Eunice Geer (87). 
June 3 — Isaac A. Williams, son of John (19). 



APPENDIX. 315 

1 838 — Continued. 
June 10 — Lydia Willcox, wife of Jeremiah (63). 
June 22 — Frances J. Rose, daughter of James (18). 
June 24— Mary Geer, wife of David (81). 
June 25 — Amos WilHams (84). 
July 12 — Jonathan Stoddard (72). 
Sept. 26— Thomas Hallet (78). 
Oct. 9 — Henry J. Hurlbutt, son of Asaph (2). 
Oct. 23 — Lydia Williams (73). 
Nov. 25 — Olive Sterry, wife of Silas (95). 
Dec. 9 — Emeline C. Gallup, daughter of Elisha (17). 
Dec. II — Mrs. Elisabeth Chappcl (93). 
Dec. 26 — Mercy A. Phillips, wife of Joseph (17). 

1839- 
Feb. — Mercy M. Burnett, wife of Richard (21). 
Feb. II — Abigail Bill, wife of Joshua (80). 
Feb. 16 — Theophilus Avery (85). 

March 16 — Susannah Stoddard, wife of Guy C. (50). 
March 28 — Parthena Sterry, daughter of Silas (68). 
March 29 — Stephen H. Ball, son of Alfred (6). 
March 31 — James H. Ball, son of Alfred (4). 
July 2 — Asa L. Lester (78). 
July 9 — James Fanning (6y). 
July 20 — Hannah Allyn, wife of Nathan (72). 
Aug. 16 — Theodore A. Capron (32). 

Sept. 22 — Mary E. Willcox, daughter of Jeremiah (15 days). 
Oct. II — Bashaba Allyn, wife of Thomas (84). 
Dec. 8— John Main (32). 

1840. 
Jan. 12 — Cyrus Allyn (53). 
Feb. 14 — Infant son of Luke Gallup. 
Feb. 24 — Joseph Allyn (60). 
March 5 — Erastus Latham, Jun. (2). 
July 10 — Elisha A. Packer, son of Eldredge (i). 
Aug. 5 — Ehsha J. Stoddard (61). 
Aug. 16 — Susan Lester, relict of Nathan (82). 
Sept. 10 — Mary Rose, widow of Peleg (88). 



3l6 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1 840 — Continued. 
Oct. II — Stephen H. Woodmansee (3). 
Oct. 19 — Giles Morgan (28). 
Dec. 13 — Nancy Gallup, wife of Andrew (71). 
Dec. 14 — Daniel Stoddard (79). 
Dec. 14 — Solomon Lester (69). 
Dec. 25 — Stephen Billings (22). 

— Dr. Prosper Rose, surgeon in army (88). 

1841. 
April 10 — Lucy Kimball, relict of Chester (71). 
June 30 — Lucretia Stoddard, wife of Daniel (yy). 
July 21 — Mary Hallet, wife of Thomas (79). 
Aug. 4 — Ruth Brown, widow of Reuben (72). 
Aug. 7 — James M. Gallup (18). 
Aug. 7 — George W. Palmer (25). 
Sept. 7 — Henry Comstock, son of Henry (3). 
Dec. 20 — Joshua Bill (81). 
Dec. 28 — Martha Vincent, relict of Samuel (in Ohio) (36). 

1842. 
Jan. 16 — Infant daughter of Albert Brown. 
April 8 — Erastus Barnes (22). 
May I — William J. Williams (16). 
May 4 — Mrs. Laura Lamphere (23). 
March 9— Martha S. Gallup (46). 
May 30 — Phoebe Gallup, daughter of Nehemiah (18). 
June 23 — Robert Stoddard (85). 
July 5 — William Watrous (1^/2). 
July 24 — Sarah E. Latham, wife of Thomas (20). 
Aug. 8 — Col. Ebenezer Avery (80). 
Aug. 9 — Lucy Chapman (5 months). 
Aug. 14 — James Latham (72). 

Oct. 9 — Frank Latham, son of Thomas (4 months). 
Oct. 19 — Cesar Babcock (90). 
Oct. 21 — Mrs. Lydia Adams, wife of David (74). 
Nov. 9— Mrs. Charlotte Clark (60). 
Nov. 13 — Julia A. Lee, daughter of John (19). 
Nov. 19 — James B. Williams, son of William (3). 



APPENDIX. 317 

1S42— Continued. 
Dec 7 — Lyman Stoddard, son of Daniel (16). 
Dec. 12 — Joseph Gallup, son of Avery (7 months). 

1843. 
Jan. 16— Robert M. Niks (26). 
April 4 — Esther Peckham, wife of Stephen (46). 
May 21— Seth Williams (83). - 

June 3 — Hannah M. Williams, daughter of Erastus (8). 
June 28 — Mary WilHams, wife of Peter. 
July 19 — Jesse Gallup (60). 

Aug. 7 — Adelaide L. Packer, daughter of Eldredge (8%). 
Aug. 17 — Dea. Warren Williams (54). 
Aug. 18 — Jonathan Stoddard, Jr. (54). 
Aug. 2^ — Obadiah Bailey (93). 
Sept. 7 — Mary Moxley, wife of John S. (54). 
Sept. 15 — Prudence M. Palmer, wife of Christopher S. (28). 
Nov. 14 — Esther Latham, wife of William (63). 
Dec. 5 — Hannah Holdridge, widow of Nathan (64). 
Dec. 6 — Eldredge Packer (36). 
Dec. 27 — Nehemiah Gallup (93). 

1844. 
Jan. 16 — Freelove AUyn (61). 

Feb. 10 — Elias Chapman, son of Samuel (9 months). 
March 20 — Simeon Morgan (58). 
April 21 — Stephen Morgan (83). 
April 2y — Content Watrous, wife of Henry (28). 
May 8 — Capt. Hamilton Morgan {2y). 
May II — John Lee (52). 

July 24 — Nancy H. Chapman, daughter of Elias (21). 
Aug. 7 — John Chapman (64). 
Sept. 9 — Nathan Peckham (6'/). 
Oct. 16 — Samuel Chapman (38). 

1845. 
Feb. 7 — Harriet M. Peckham, daughter of Isaac (9). 
March 13 — Sarah Allyn, wife of Alexander (71). 
May 29 — Sally Lewis (85). 
June 9 — Sally Chapman, widow of Robert (56). 



3l8 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1845 — C out i lined. 
Aug. II — Angeline Arthur (23). 
Sept. 14 — George D. Williams, son of Daniel (1^/2). 
Sept. 17 — Julia A. Peckham, daughter of Isaac (21). 
Oct. 21 — Jane R. Chapman (19). 
Nov. II — Erastus Williams (60). 
Nov. 23 — Aurelia S. Stanton (22). 
Dec. 28 — Elizabeth Bolles, relict of Amos (72). 

1846. 
March 9 — Elias Brown (64). 
April 22 — Polly Satterlee, wife of Elisha (71). 
April 29 — Polly Stoddard, wife of Sanford (64). 
May 21 — JuHa A. Brown (26). 
June 13 — Mrs. Hannah Carter (26). 
Oct. I — Lucy Bill, wife of Gurdon (51).^ 
Oct. 4 — Fanny E. Brown, daughter of Albert (3). 

1847. 
Jan. 10 — Amos H. Allyn, son of Joseph (16). 
Jan. 14 — Gustavus C. Newton (in Tennessee) (23). 
Feb. 5 — Hope Ayer, wife of Elisha (89). 
March 6 — Susannah Reynolds, wife of Clark (66). 
July — Lymon Perkins (2). 
July — Alfred Dickinson (2). 
July 26 — James Stoddard, son of Ephraim (2). 
July 31— Eliza Bill (16). 
Aug. 4 — Silas Williams (78). 
Aug. 22 — Thomas Norman (64). 
Sept. 18 — Lucy Peckham, wife of Benjamin (87). 
Sept. 20 — William E. Maynard (2). 
Sept. 28 — Jonathan Stoddard (83). 
Nov. I — Mary Avery (73). 
Nov. 6 — Nancy Lester, wife of Austin (44). 
Nov. 22 — Albert Roach (23). 

Nov. 24 — Hannah A. Thomas, wife of Seabury (44). 
Nov. 30— Polly Gallup (81). 
Nov. 30 — Mary Gallup, relict of Josiah (81). 
Dec. 6 — Susan Gallup (20). 



APPENDIX. 319 

1847 — Con filmed. 
Dec. 20 — Emily Palmer (31). 
E)ec. 25 — Sally Perkins (65). 

1848. 
Feb. 8 — Denison B. Packer (2). 
March 24 — Susanna Williams, wife of Alhn (80). 
April 7 — Capt. Jacob AUyn (50). 

April 10 — Reuben Wilcox, son of Robert (3 months). 
April 17 — Julia Whipple (9 months). 
May 23 — Levi Standish (84). 
May 24 — Eunice Chapman, wife of Asa (74). 
May 24 — Eunice Standish (74). 
May 25 — James Allyn (78). 
June 6 — Samuel Whipple (28). 
June 2y — Infant daughter of Joseph Tibbetts. 
July I — Mary G. Stoddard, wife of Jonathan (81). 
July 5 — Augusta M. Ball, daughter of Olive (4 months). 
July 20 — John Holdridge (65). 
Aug. 6 — Matilda Whipple (23). 
Aug. 10 — Henry Rogers (41). 

Aug. 23 — Hannah M. Palmer, daughter of Charles (i^-^). 
Aug. 31 — Lewiston Gallup (32). 
Sept. 13 — Catherine Gallup, wife of Luke (47). 
Oct. 27 — Asa Avery (51). 

Nov. 19 — Juhet Rose, daughter of James (27). 
Dec. 21 — Anna G. Williams, relict of Seth (83). 
Dec. 21 — Anna Gallup (83). 

1849. 
Jan. 23 — Ichabod Babcock (90). 
Jan. 24 — Sally Newton (61). 
Jan. 30 — William Latham (84). 
Feb. 9 — Fitch Stoddard, son of Sanford (23). 
Feb. 10— Perez F. Stoddard (22). 
Feb. 16 — Hannah A. Williams, wife of Denison (54). 
Feb. 19 — James J. Brown (42). 
March 5 — George Davis (41). 
March 9 — Elam V. Williams, son of Denison (12). 



320 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

1849 — Continued. 
March 21 — Samuel Healy. 
April 24 — Mary Peckham {y6). 
May 20— Thomas Allyn (87). 
July 5 — Isaac Bailey (60). 

July 17 — Margaret Gallup, wife of Lodowick (70). 
July 30 — Christopher Gallup (85). 
Aug. 2 — Cyrus M. McCracken. 
Aug. 18— Phebe Wood (yy). 
Aug. 23 — Infant child of Geo. A. Bailey. 
Sept. I — Mary Hurlbutt (5 days). 
Sept. 3 — Melville Comstock, son of Henry (i^'^). 
Sept. 6 — Sally A. Lester (20). 
Sept. 18 — Catherine Gallup (47). 
Sept. 19 — Timothy Crouch. 
Sept. 29 — Olive Ball, wife of Van (26). 
Oct. — Hephzibah Whipple (59). 

Oct. I — Margery Newton Avery, wife of Theophilus (74). 
Oct. 4 — Mary Maynard, wife of Jesse (80). 
Oct. 28 — Edwin Arthur (in California) {22). 
Nov. 13 — Elijah T. Rose, son of James (22). 
Nov. 15 — Phebe Peckham, wife of Stephen (32). 
Nov. 21 — Polly Woodbridge. 
Dec. 2 — Content Crouch. 
Dec. 4 — Ellen A. Campbell (2). 
Dec. 16 — Content Welden. 

1850. 
Jan. II — David Adams (88). 
Jan. 26 — Susan Lester. 
Feb. I — Peleg W. Park (drowned) (44). 
May 8— Rev. Ralph Hurlbutt (83). 
May 22— Sally Stoddard (46). 
June 20 — Susannah Allyn, wife of Thomas (84). 
July 25 — James E. Geer (i). 

— Thomas Smith (in Franklin) (90). 
Aug. — Tliankful Smith, wife of Thomas (in Franklin) (92). 
Aug. 13 — Mary Stoddard, daughter of Ephraim (i). 



APPENDIX. 321 

1850 — Continued. 
Aug. 15 — Col. Stephen Billings (69). 
Aug. 29 — Simeon Bailey (1^/2). 
Aug. 29 — Elizabeth C. Bailey (6). 

Sept. 23 — Clarissa B. Tibbetts, daughter of Joseph (i), 
Sept. 24 — George G. Vincent, son of Ira (24). 
Oct. 5 — Amy S. Williams, wife of William (68). 
Nov. 24 — Gurdon L. Spicer (26). - 
Dec. I — Capt. Alexander Allyn (83). 
Dec. 28 — Joseph Tibbetts (36). 

— Phebe W. Watrous, wife of Daniel (28). 

1851. 
Jan. 8 — Reuben C. Perkins (21). 
Jan. 14 — Ira W. Lamb (14). 
Jan. 31 — Caroline Allen, widow of Alfred (45). 
April 19-^-Peter A. Gallup (75). 

May 12 — Harriet R. Smith, daughter of Leonard (4 days). 
July 19 — Lydia Satterlee, wife of Jonas (81). 
Aug. 14 — William H. Stoddard (35). 
Nov. 8 — Isaac Allyn, son of Abel (in California) (24). 
Dec. 19 — Ira E. Bill, son of Edward (2%). 
Dec. 20 — Mary Hurlbutt, relict of Rev. Ralph (86). 
Dec. 30 — George Ayer, Jun. (18). 

1852. 
Feb. 23 — Daniel Brown (92). 
April 4— Alfred Ball (58). 
May 23 — Mary A. Allen, wife oi Elisha (27). 
May 25 — Michal Williams, widow of Silas (81). 
June 5 — Peter Lester (84). 
June 22— Capt. Alfred A. Wood (57). 
July 4 — Anna Lester, widow of Peter (90). 
July 14 — Sally P. Sheldon, wife of John (66). 
Aug. 18 — Abigail Stoddard, widow of Vine (93). 
Sept. 26 — Capt. Francis A. Lester (40). 
Oct. 17 — Elisha Morgan (18). 
Nov. II — Capt. Jacob Gallup (65). 
21 



322 HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 

i853- 
Jan. 8 — Julius Latham (2). 

Jan. 16— Mrs. Mary Mulkcy (74). 

Jan. 27 — Capt. Daniel Stoddard, son of Daniel (29). 

Feb. 14 — ^Horatio N. Bailey (in San Francisco) (33). 

Feb. 24 — Hon. Wm. Williams (72). 

Feb. 26 — Amos Myers (21). 

March 8— Jonas Satterlee (89). 

March 16 — Andrew Gallup (91). 

April 8 — Nancy F. Myers, wife of John (56). 

May 30 — Polly Stanton (61). 

June 20 — Flisha Ayer (96). 

July 15— William FL Park, son of Peleg (at Key West) (22). 

July 24 — Robinson Bailey (69). 

July 26 — Olive Morgan (93). 

Sept. 26 — Sarah Gray, widow of Philip (69). 

Sept. 29 — Infant son of Eben Gallup. 

Oct. 3 — Theoday Latham (69). 

Oct. 21 — Cynthia Holdridge (66). 

Nov. 15 — Abby Lester (53). 

Dec. 17 — William Green (81). 

Dec. 23 — Phillis B. Daniels, wife of Mark (74). 

Dec. 25 — Freelove Niles Latham (79). 

Dec. 25 — Infant son of Jos. Morgan. 

Dec. 31 — Elisha Perkins (70). 

— Stephen Hempstead (83). 

1854. 
Jan. 16 — Infant child of G. A. Bailey. 
Jan. 23 — Mrs. Emeline F. Holdridge (40). 
Jan. 19 — Mrs. Mary Avery, relict of Col. Ebenezer (86). 
March 23 — Capt. Henry Comstock (at Ascension Island) (43). 
April 21 — Ray Gallup (20). 
May 6 — Henry M. Reynolds (49). 
June 3 — Benjamin Spicer (60). 

June 10 — Gehannah Williams, relict of Uriah (99 2-3J. 
June 22 — Phineas Holdridge (83). * 
June 28 — Seth Williams (52). 



APPENDIX. 323 

June 28 — Mrs. Elizabeth S. Gallup (39). 

June 29 — Mary Morgan, daughter of Simeon (32). 

July 7 — Infant son of Theophilus and Alary Avery. 

July 9 — Austin AUyn (23). 

July 20 — Gurdon Williams (63). -^ 

July 23 — Julia Ayer, wife of George (37). 

Aug. 24 — Roswell M. Stoddard (5 months). 

Sept. 17 — Thomas Comstock (67). 

Oct. 9 — Capt. Wm. Williams (75). 

Nov. 13— Mrs. Prudence Daboll (88). 

Nov. 26— Mary C. Stoddard (33). 

Dec. 3 — Egbert Avery (65). 

Dec. 28 — Nathan Barnes (78). 

— Benjamin Geer (70). 

— Martha Geer (60). 



INDEX. 



Page. 
Ackley, Elder J. B. 57 

Adams, John Q. 274 

Adams, John 75 

Adams, Nathan 75 

Adams, Elder J. R. 57 

Aldrige, Elder Fredits 54 

Allyn, Maria S. 219 

Allyn, Abel 171, 187 

Allyn, William I. 249 

Allyn, Belton 79 

Allyn, James 164 

Allyn, Benadam 79 

Allyn, Christopher 

56, 168, 169, 219 
Allyn, Israel 44, 45, 171 

Allyn, N. B. 57 

Allyn, Robert 

18, 19, 167, 211 
Allyn, Col. Roswell 164, 165 
Allyn, Lt. Stanton 

165, 166, 167 
Allyn, Charles 169 

Allyn, Capt. Samuel 79 

Allyn, Palmer 249 

Allyn, Capt. Simeon 79 

Allyn, Capt. Gurdon L. 167 
Allyn, Gurdon F. 169 

Allyn, Rev. Robert 

J69, 171, 246 



Page. 

Allyn, Margarette J. 186 

Allyn, Ellen 187 

Allyn, Maria R. 247 

Allyn, Fanny 88 

Arnold, Benedict 67, 69, 75 
Ashley, Elder D. G. 56 

Avery, Dr. Amos G. 182 

Avery, A. 58 

Avery, E. D. 109 

Avery, Capt. Anson 20 

Avery, Capt. Christopher 173 
Avery, Amos G. 52, 54 

Avery, Dr. Christopher 

Swan 181, 182 

Avery, Billings T. 19 

Avery, Rev. Christopher 

3I' 56, 174 
Avery, Capt. Christopher 

173- 174 
Avery, Caleb 70 

Avery, Col. Ebenezer 174 

Avery, Isaac 181 

Avery, Lucy 181 

Avery, Ebenezer 72 

Avery, Samuel 264 

Avery, Edward 172 

Avery, Erasmus 249 

Avery, Henry W. 

44, 174, 175, 177, 179 



326 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Page. 
Avery, I. Edwin 249 

Avery, Rev. John 

1,41, 178, 181,246,247,249 
Avery, James Jr. 172 

Avery, Jacob 172 

Avery, Mary A. 25, 42 

Avery, Rev. Nathan 

54, 172, 174 
Avery, Rev. Park 52, 70 

Avery, Rev. Frederick D. 

177, 178, 181 
Avery, Henry W. Jr. 

179, 180 
Avery, Sidney 180 

Avery, Riifus 71 

Avery, Lydia G. 180 

Avery, Mary ' 180 

Avery, Theophihis 186 

Avery, William 81 

Avery, Nathan 182 

Avery, Experience 208 

Avery, Dea. John 211 

Avery, Abigail 211 

Avery Family, 92 

Ayer Family, 98 



Rackus, Rev. Isaac 51 

Babcock, Ichabod 79 

Bailey, Thomas 148 

Baker, Andrew 79 

Barber, Phoebe Esther 59 

Barnes, Laura Anna 59 
Beckwith, Dea. J. B. 

43. 44, 249 

Bellows, Miss 43 



Page. 
Bellows Family, 98 

Benham, Ida Whipple 247 
Bennett, John 60 

Bentley, Elder L. D. 56 

Billings, Corp. Andrew 79 
Billings, Anna 44 

Billings, Cynthia 222 

Billings, Capt. James A. 186 
Billings, Stephen 186, 222 
Billings Family, 100 

Bill, Charles 

45, 112, 113, 248, 249 
Bill, Edward M. 107 

Bill, Frederic 

76, 103, 109, 248, 249 
Bill, Frederic A. 81,185,249 
Bill, Gurdon 

81, 105, 106, 183, 257 
Bill, Gurdon Jr. 108, 248, 249 
Bill, Henry 

38, 39, 108, 183, 184, 185 
243, 244, 246, 247, 249 
Bill, James 183 

Bill, John 103 

Bill, Nathan D. 108 

Bill, Joshua 79, 105 

Bill, Lucy Y. 107, 183 

Bill, Ledyard 

3, 83, 105, no. III, 248, 249 
Bill, Richard 104 

Bill, Edward 246, 249 

Bill, Phineas 79 

Bill, Rev. Dr. William 102 
Bill, Philip 18, 105 

Bill, Joshua 264 

Bill, John W. 185 



Bill, Sarah 
Bill, Richard 
Bill, Phineas 
Bill Family, 

Boynton, Elder G. D. 56 

BoUes Family, 114 

Bradford, Gov. William 169 

Bradbury, Elder David 56 

Breed, John 265 

Brewster, Franklin 186, 187 

Brev/ster, Elder William 175 

Brewster, Jonathan 18 
Brewster, Capt. John 

83, 187, 188, 190 

Brewster, James 265 

Brewster, Benjamin 181 

Brewster, Nathan 186 

Brewster, William. F. 187 

Brewster, John D. 190 

Brewster, Jabez 187 

Brewster, John 187, 245, 249 

Brewster, Frank W. 189 

Brewster Family, 115 

Bromfield, Capt. 72 

Brown, Amos 59 

Brown, Avery W. 59 

Brown, Aaron 58 

Brown, Albert 58 

Brown, Avery W. 190 

Brown, C. A. 57 

Brown, Daniel 58 
Brown, Col.Elias W.24, 44, 58 

Brown, Hattie 57 

Brown, Elias S. 190 

Brown, Mercy 59 

Brown, Mary 59 



INDEX. 








327 


Page. 










Page. 


196 


Brown, 


Rev. 


Nathaniel Ji 


■• 52 


103 


Brown, 


Mar}) 


' L. 




189 


211 


Buckinj 


g-ham, 


Gov. 


Wm. 


A. 


102 








83> 


, 246 



Capron, Letter of Saml. 274 
Campbell, Dea. Wm. 40 
Carroll, L. W. 189 
Carter, Charles W. 246 
Case, Elder J. W. 56 
Catalogue of Deaths, 276 
Champion, Susan 42 
Chapman, C. H. 57 
Chapman, Courtland 56 
Chapman, Nelson 60 
Chapman, Ichabod 45 
Chapman, William 18 
Chapman, Hannah I. 57 
Chester, Norman L. 44 
Church, The Congrega- 
tional 30 
Church, Tlie Episcopal 46 
Church, The Methodist 53 
Church, The Separatist 49 
Church, The Baptist 58 
Church, The Rogerene 

Quakers 61 

Cleveland, John 50 
Clinton, General 67, 78 

Colver, Courtland 57 

Colver, Kate B. 57 

Colver, C. E. 57 

Comstock, James 75 
Cook, Rev. N. B. 

37, 191, 243, 244, 245 



328 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Page. 

Cook, Mrs. N. B. 25, 191 
Cook, Lt. Wm. T. 

43, 191, 192, 193 

245, 246, 249, 250 

Crandall, Hon. Stiles A. 191 

Crandall, Billings F. T. 191 

Crandall, Stiles 191 

Crary, Elisha A. 187 

Croswell, Rev. Andrew 32 

Culver, Edward 18 
Cutting, Rev. Charles 

38, 46, 83, 196, 246, 249 

Cutting, Horace 38 

Daboll, David A. 195 

Daboll, Nathan 194 

Daboll, John 71 

Dalrymple, Elder C. H. 57 

Daniels, Mark 257, 258 

Daniels, Phillis 56 

Davis, Maria T. 202 

Davis, Maj. Benj. loi 

Davis, Sarah loi 

Davis, Jefferson 170 

Davis, Capt. Noah 20 

Deane, Hon. Silas 18, 193 

Denison, Elder Eustus 58 

Denison, Nathan F. 108, 109 

Denison, Elder Jesse 56 

Denison, Emeline 171 

Denison, Betsey 175, 179 

Denison, Frederick 175 

Denison, John L. 246 

Denison, Martha 186 

Denison, Rev. Frederick 247 

Denman, Elder Thos. 57 



Page. 
Dewey, Elder Timothy 54 
Dickenson, Elder 56 

Dorchester, Elder Daniel 56 
Dow, Rev. Lorenzo 54 

Dunham, Elder 56 

Eldridge, Charles 71 

Eldridge, Mary 174 

Emerson, Rev. Warren 56 

Eyre, Lt. Col. 68 

Fanning, Flattie E. 247 

Fanning, Edmund 18, 119 
Fanning, George 

25, 44, 120, 243, 244 
245, 246, 249 
Fanning Family, 119 

Fish, Capt. Wm. S. 192 

Fish, Hannah 175 

Fox, Bathsheba 62 



Gallup, 


Andrew 


79 


Gallup, 


Benadam 31, 


123 


Gallup, 


Capt. Jacob 


195 


Gallup, 


Palmer 


221 


Gallup, 


Dea. Erastus 43, 


203 


Gallup, 


Nehemiah M. 


249 


Gallup, 


Capt. Isaac 






197, 204, 


205 


Gallup, 


Isaac 




103 


, 197, 198, 199, 200^ 


, 201 


Gallup, 


Rev. James A. 






122, 181,205, 220; 


.247 


Gallup, 


Joseph H. 






24, 165, 


221 


Gallup, 


Joseph A, 124, 


249 



INDEX. 



329 



Page. 
Gallup, Dea. Nathan Sands 

43. 44, 206, 244, 249 
Gallup, Maj. Jacob L. 196 

Gallup, Nelson 56 

Gallup, Dea. Russell 204 

Gallup, Nehemiah 79 

Gallup, Sarah Ann 196 

Gallup, Wm. M. 25 

Gallup, Jacob 249 
Gallup, Dea. Russell 

43, 135, 249 

Gallup, Rufus M. 244 

Gallup, Isaac Jr. 202 

Gallup, Avery 205 

Gallup, Eliza 222 

Gallup Family, 121 

Gates, Phoebe F. 59 

Geer, Amos 207 

Geer, Ellen 130, 154 

Geer, Eliza B. 45 

Geer, George 18, 208 
Geer, Dea. Isaac G. 

43, 206, 207, 245, 249 

Geer, James L. ' 129 

Geer, Thomas A. 188 

Geer, Joseph 81 

Geer, Robert 31, 130, 207 

Geer, M. Adaliza 188 

Geer, Jacob A. 44, 207 

Geer, David 207, 208 

Geer, Isaac W. 208 

Geer, Col. Isaac W. 208 

Geer, David 208 

Geer, Delia 208 

Geer, Louise 208 

Geer, Thomas H. 3iO 



Page. 
Geer, Capt. Nathaniel B. 

209, 243 

Geer, Albert D. 210 

Geer, Juliette 210 

Geer, Mary A. 210 

Geer Family, 125 

Gilman, Wm. C. 266 

Goddard, Calvin 265 

Goodrich, Elder Nelson 57 

Goof, A. E. 60 

Gray, Hattie J. 245 
Gray, Amandar W. 

132, 166, 169 

Gray, John M. 44, 249 

Gray, Thomas B. 132 

Gray, Marian I. 246, 249 

Gray Family, 130 

Granger, Mary 36 

Griswold, Elizabeth 63 

Green, Caroline L. 191 

Groton Selectmen, 273 

Haley, Hon. Elisha 164 

Hallett, Capt. Henry 20 
Hallet, Henry 257, 258 

Halsey, Capt. 69 

Halsey, Jeremiah 246 

Hancock, John 102 

Hamilton, Alexander 'j2 
Hammond, Mrs. Esther 173 

Harvey, Paul 104 

Hayden, B. F. 58 

Heald, Rev. Jesse E. 56 

Heath, Dorothy 174 

Hempstead, Stephen 71, 72 

Henderson, David B, 2i6 



330 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 





Page. 


Hill, Samuel 7 


[, 73 


Hinks, Elder E. F. 


56 


Holbrook, S. T. 


246 


Holdridge, Almira 


59 


Holdridge, Emeline 


59 


Holdridge, Randall 


59 


Howard, William O. 


182 


Howell, Rev. S. N. 


191 


Hoyt, Col. 


83 


Hurlburt, Amos 114, 


139 


Hnrlbnrt, Lticy 


54 


Hurlburt, Hannah 


54 


Hurlburt, Fanny R. 


57 


Hurlburt, John 


18 


Hurlburt, Ralph 213, 


244 


Hurlburt, Henry 


57 


Hurlburt, Rev. Ralph 




52, 54- 55. 


211 


Hurlburt, Rufus 54, 


212 


Hurlburt, Henry 


249 


Hurlburt, Thomas 


211 


Hurlburt, Lt. Thomas 


212 


Hurlburt, Stephen 


212 


Hurlburt, Dea. John 


2TI 


Hurlburt, Stephen 


211 


Hurlburt Family, 


135 


Huse, Elder O. 


56 


TTutchinson, Samuel 


172 


Hyde, Mary 


162 


Jackes, Samuel W. 


71 


Jackson, Genl. Andrew 


83 


Jennings, Isaac 


177 


Johnson, Rev. Jacob 


33 


Jones, Moses 


79 


Johnson, Obedjah 


50 



Johnson, Caroline A. 



Page. 
182 



Kinney, P. 60 

Kinmouth, Rev. A. E. 

42, 43, 245, 246, 249 



Lamb, Samuel 25 

Lamb, Samuel S. 220 

Lamb, Isaac 18 

Lamb, Tabithy 44 

Lamb Family, 139 

Lamed, Miss 50 

I.arrabee, Capt. Adam 

213, 214, 215 
Larrabee, Henry 83, 249 

Larrabee, Frederick 213 

Larrabee, Ex-Gov. Wm. 

215, 216, 217 
Larrabee, Capt. Nathan F. 

217, 218 
Larrabee, Hon. Henry 

218, 219 
Latham, William 79 
Latham, Thomas 57, 141, 142 
Latham, Sarah E. 57, 169 
Latham Family, 140 
Ledyard, Fanny 73 
Ledyard, Gurdon yd 
Ledyard, Youngs 70 
Ledyard, Capt. Ebenezer 72 
Ledyard, Col. William 

19,68,69,70,71,75,76,211 
Lee, Jesse 53 

Lee, Gen. Robert E, 170 

Lester, Asa 79 



INDEX. 



331 



Lester, Hannah 
Lester, John 
Lester, Hannah G. 
Lester, Samuel 
Lester Family, 
Lewis, Lt. Joseph 
Lewis, Benjamin F. Jr. 
Lewis, Benjamin F. 



Page. 
167 

79 
214 
264 
142 

79 
189 

249 



Main, Daniel 59 
Main, John 60 
Main, Lois 59 
Main Family 148 
Mansy, Benjamin 179 
Mansy, Charlotte 179 
Mason, Capt. John 251 
Maynard, Bertha 57 
Maynard, Lydia 57 
Maynard, William 18 
McCord, Robert 181 
McCord, Rachel P. 181 
Middleton, Mrs. Jose- 
phine 163 
Miner, Thomas 79 
Minot, Miss M. loi 
Mitchell, Colby C. 177 
Montgomery, Maj. 68, 74 
Morgan, Henrietta 164 
Morgan, Partlienia 195 
Morgan, Capt. John 19, 264 
Morgan, Capt. Israel 187 
Morgan, William 

19, 187, 222, 257 
Morgan, Capt. Simeon 79 

Morgan Family, 149 



Page. 

Moxley, Joseph 79 

Myers, Dea. John 60 

Newell, Elder F. C. 56 

Newton, Christopher 245 

Newton, Elijah 55 

Newton, John J. 55 

Norton, Mary 37 

Norman, Hannah 42 

Norman, Moses 44 

Norman, Sarah 45 

Norman, Stephen H. 223 

Norman, Charity 55 

Norman, Hibbard R. 224 

Norman, Thomas 223 
Norwich & Worcester 

R. R. The 265 

Noyes, William 79 

O'Brien, George H. 31, 246 

Ostrander, Elder Daniel 54 

Otis, James 102 

Packer, John 79 

Paine, Elisha 50 
Palmer, Harriet . 164 

Palmer, Lucy 57 

Park, Abigail 173 

Park, Robert 18 

Park, H. K. 104 

Park, Martha 162 

Park, Capt. John 173 

Pease, L. E. 245 

Peckham, Elder Stephen H. 

58, 59 
Peckham, Stephen H. Jr, 60 



332 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Page. 

Peckham, Benjamin 59 

Peckham, Esther 59 

Penn, William 253 

Pequot Indians, The 251 

Perkins, Geo. L. 266 

Perkins, John E. 56 

Perkins, D. C. 57 

Perkins, Sarah 57 

Perkins, Laura A. 57 

Perkins, Elisha 79 

Perkins, Luke 79 

Perkins, Luke Jr. 79 

Perkins, Asa 79 

Perkins, Elnathan 79 

Perkins, Simeon 79 

Pierce, Mrs. Thankful 53 

Prentice, John 74 

Prentice, Mrs. Esther 173 

Prosser, Dea. Thomas 59, 60 

Prosser, Anna 59 
Punderson, Rev. Ebenezer 

31. 46 



Quincy, Josiah 



66 



Representatives in Leg- 
islature 20, 2.1, 2.2 

Revere, Paul 102 

Roach, Sidney A. 45 

Roach, Thomas 79 

Roach Family, 152 

Robbins. Elder Frank S. 60 

Roberts, Elder Georg-e 54 

Roberts, Richard A. 188 

Rockwell, Charles 265 

Rogers, Mrs. Frances 57 



Page. 
Rogers, Jolin 61, 62, 63 

Rose, Joanna 172 

Rose, Thomas 172 

Russell, Charles A. 247 

Saltonstall, Rev. Gurdon 63 
Saltonstall, Gurdon 172 

Satterlee, C. A. 57, 249 

Satterlee, Alice 57 

Satterlee, Elmer 57 

Satterlee, Susan 57 

School Teachers, List of 273 
Seabury, Dea. John 19 

Seabury, Samuel 19 

Seabury, Samuel Jr. 31, 224 
Seabury, John 31 

Seabury, Rev. Samuel 31,224 
Seabury, David 79 

Selden, Rev. J. Henry 185 
Selden, Henry Bill 185 

Separatists' Memorial, 269 
Separatists' Petition, 271 

Shapley, Capt. 68 

Sholes, Capt. Nathaniel 79 
Smith, Rev. David 35 

Smith, Thomas 79 

Smith, Leonard 37, 244 

Smith, M. G. 60 

Smith, Julia Sophia 179 

Smith, Nehemiah 197, 264 
Smith, Roswell 179 

Smith Family, 153 

Spicer, Peter 18 

Spicer, Capt. Edmund 

83, 243, 245 
Spicer, John S. 245, 249 



INDEX. 



333 



Page. 

Sprague, Ella 185 

Stanton, Capt. Amos 79 

Stanton, Edward 71 

Stanton, Anna 164 

Stanton, Harriet 59 

Stanton, Lydia 54 

Stanton Family, 155 

Starkweather, H. H. 246 

Starr, Vine A. 60 

Stedman, Sergt. John 79 

Stedman, John W. 246 

Sterry, Sally 44 

Stewart, Alexander 164 

Stiles, Rev. W. C. 247 

Stoddard, Stephen M. 164 

Stoddard, Jonathan 54 
Stoddard, Ralph S. 18, 56 

Stoddard, Sanford B. 244 

Stoddard, Daniel 79 

Stoddard, Robert 79 

Stoddard, Ralph 79 

Stoddard, Vine 79 
Stoddardj Ebenezer 159, 160 

Stoddard, Stephen M. 164 

Stoddard, Jane F. 191 

Stoddard Family, 158 

Stoneman, Elder Jesse 54 

Stratton, Elizabeth 162 

Street, Nicholas 264 

Strong, Rev. Edward 179 

Swain, Elder R. 54 

Swan, Lucy 188 

Taylor, Elder Wm. A. 57 

Thomas, Seabury 207 

Thompson, Edward A. 181 



Page. 
Thompson, John C. 181 

Thompson, Henry S. 181 

Thurston, Edwin L. 188 

Tillinghast, Lorenzo W. 60 
Tourjce, Eben 179 

Tracy, David 104 

Trumbull, Mary 162 

Tubbs, Elmer 57 

Turkington, Elder Wm. 56, 57 
Turner, Ezekiel 18 

Tuttle, Anna Maria 25, 37 
Tuttle, Harriet Newell 37 
Tuttle, Joseph 36 

Tuttle, Rev. Timothy 24, 30 
35. 43. 52, 175. 180, 192 



\''anderpool, Dr. S. O. 182 
Volunteers in Civil War, 

84, 85, 86, 87 
Vrooman, Adelbert 182 



Wait, Col. John T. 83, 162 
Walworth, Reuben H. 214 
Warren, Gen. Joseph 162 

Washington, Gen. George 78 
Webster, Noah 195 

Wcdger, Joseph 79 

Welton, Rev. H. A. 48 

Wheeler, Hon. Richard A. 

96, 246, 247, 255 
Wheeler, Richard 173 

Wheeler, Prudence 173 

Whipple, Chrissie 247 

Whipple, Jonathan 176 



334 



HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LEDYARD. 



Page. 
Wilcox, Robert 59 

Williams, Henry Warren 

237. 238 
Williams, Daniel 75 
Williams, EHas Hewitt 

238, 239 
Williams, William 18, 19, 44 



Williams, 


Cecelia H. 


161 


Williams, 


Warren 


43 


Williams, 


Youngs 


162 


Williams,. 


William H. 


240 


Williams, 


Orrin M. ~ 


240 


Williams, 


Rev. E. M. 


247 


Williams, 


Lt. Henry 


79 


Williams, 


Eleazer 162, 


163 



Williams, Zebaniah 
Williams, Denison B. 

161, 162, I 



79 



Page. 

Williams, Mary Ann 171 

Williams, Eunice A. 161 

Williams, Park A. 161 

Williams, B. Frank 161 

Williams, Mary Esther 188 

Williams, Asenath 208 

Williams Family, 160 
Winthrop, Gov. John Jr. 

17, 18, 103 

Witter, Julia Ann 242 

Wood, John 241 
Wood, Col. Samuel W. 

44, 241, 242 

Woodbridge, Wm. H. 44 

Woodmancy, Caroline 59 

Worcester, Elder J. M. 56 



Yerrington, Lucy 



107 



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